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India is a soft target for dumping hazardous industrial waste, feel environmentalists citing the example of Alang in Gujarat, the world's largest shipbreaking yard. Fatima Chowdhury reports
Picture yourself in a grey shipyard scattered with twisted steel and rusted scraps as the musty air reeks with a pungent smell of decay and burning metals. A ghostly gloom pervades all around with large aging vessels anchored in silence and all you can see are tired faces covered in dust and dirt rummaging through tonnes of discarded toxic waste. It's rather a grotesque scene yet it's a reality for hundreds of workers in shipyards around India as they scrap aging ships under poor environmental, health and safety standards. Here profit and livelihood are weighed against environment and survival.
The term "Hazardous Waste" is defined as having properties potentially unsafe "to human health or the environment." These wastes can be anything from pesticides to toxic by-products from the industrial sector and come in various forms like liquids and sludge. While each country is governed by their own set of rules and perceptions in categorising hazardous waste, it is T ransboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their disposal being shipped to and from countries that has given rise to serious environmental, health and safety concerns.
India has the world's largest scrapping site for ocean going ships in Alang in Gujarat. The place mirrors the grim picture of Asian shipyards where the poor infrastructure of the industry results in awful working conditions and continuing environmental degradation from contamination to ineffective implementation of basic safety standards. The workers are continuously exposed to an unhealthy enviroment as they work with in adequate safety equipment and training to dismantle vessels. As one Greenpeace report on the Alang shipyard states: "Sediments in Alang were more contaminated than the most heavily industrialised port areas." The hard physical labour is further beset by the dangerous conditions of falling debris, explosions caused by on board gases and suffocation from carbon-dioxide causing deaths and injuries. According to Greenpeace, one out of four Alang workers will succumb to cancer due to the exposure to toxic fumes at the site. Moreover, shipbreaking activities affect even the areas beyond the yard as pollutants seep into the natural environment thus damaging agricultural lands and livelihoods.
In 1989, the international community adopted The Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal responding to the increase in hazardous waste trafficking. The efforts yielded results in 1994 when a diverse coalition of environmentalists and developing countries passed the Basel Ban in Geneva , Switzerland . It was a forerunner to a wider ban on all forms of hazardous waste exports from the industrialised countries to the poorer and developing countries effectively as of 1st January, 1998 .
The Basel Convention is the most recognised international law when it comes to hazardous waste even though there are other agreements such as the Rotterdam Convention (1998) deal with hazardous waste on different levels. India is a signatory to these conventions but displays a rather poor record when it comes to implementation as vessels with hazardous waste are allowed into its shores from the controversial SS Norway to the present Blue Lady. Ramapati Kumar of Greenpeace points out that in India livelihood has always had a greater priority compared to the environment and even though it recognises it as an issue there remains a reluctance to ratify international treaties. Even if the treaty is ratified, the government fails to follow in letter and spirit, he reiterates, as has been seen repeatedly.
The problem is further accentuated by the prevailing corruption and loopholes in the existing Indian laws. Kumar gives the example of electronic waste which cannot be imported into the country for recycling but contrarily, can be imported for reuse or for charity. So, now most of the electronic waste is being dumped in India in the name of charity but finally ending up in junkyards. But the most important factor is the lack of understanding and commitment to the international law. Kumar claims that in the various international meets on this subject, Indian authorities seem rather lackadaisical in presenting the Indian viewpoint. As a result, when rules come into force the same authorities find it difficult to implement it. Richard Gutierrez of Basel Action Network reiterates that, "The issues before India regarding shipbreaking are very clear - either it prevents environmental degradation and a public health catastrophe or it protects shipbreaking industry profits. From its actions, it is very clear that the Indian government prioritises the latter more than health of its people or the environment."
There are regulations on a national level for hazardous waste and chemicals including the Hazardous Waste Management and Handling Rules (HWM & H) of December. 1989. There have been amendments over time to prohibit import of hazardous waste to and from India for dumping or disposal and the need to address the requirements as outlined by the Basel Convention. But the government continues to show lack the political will and policy vision to protect the communities who will be suffering the most from the effects of shipbreaking, as well as the environment. As Gutierrez points out, India is not just a "soft target" but rather has an image a "welcome target" for dumping of toxic vessels, the way it has responded with the Riky and the Clemenceau.
Environmentalists contend that the time has come for the government to acknowledge the seriousness of the problem. As the developed countries implement stricter environment regulations, many polluting industries are transferring their toxic technologies to the developing countries. The only way forward to deal with the issue, as Kumar points out, is to have clean production policy at national level and have stricter legislation to eliminate chemicals from the production process. However, we need to move away from the mindset that something is being done by formulating laws to actually responding with greater clarity and political will.
According to Basel Action Network there is a very strong public support from the grassroots, particularly with the public health, trade unions, human rights as well as environmental sectors. But the ensuing legal battles and protests bring short-term attention to the seriousness of the issue and soon forgotten till the next ship sails to dock. G rowing public awareness and support for the issue make environmentalist groups and concerned citizens hopeful that a change in policy will soon see an end to this hazardous practice.
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