Ship Breaking Yards threatening Health Hazard and Environmental pollution in Bangladesh

Ship breaking has been called one of the most perilous professions in the world by the International Labour Organization (ILO). The ship breaking yards in Bangladesh do not observe minimum international standards for occupational health and safety. According to Platform members Greenpeace, the International Federation of Human Rights (FIDH), there is in average of an accident a day and a death on a week on the ship breaking yards. Causes of death and accidents on the yards are explosions, fire, suffocation and falling steel plates. The beaching practice in which the ships are broken is also extremely dangerous because the soft sand on which the breaking is done cannot support emergency and heavy lifting equipment, like cranes.

In recent years Bangladesh has become a hub of the toxic vessels as many business persons are importing more vessels perceiving it as emerging business in Bangladesh, they perceive so because here they get available labours in minimum payment who don’t care their life. Moreover, these business persons become much greedy denying the workers minimum safety environment. With this, these vessels are polluting environment to a great extent consequently alarming for tremendous health hazard emitting toxic substances.     

Young Power in Social Action (YPSA) published an environmental study conducted by Dr Md. M. Maruf Hossain and Mahammad Mahmudul Islam on Ship breaking activities and its impact on the coastal zone of Chittagong, Bangladesh.  Below are some of the findings of that study:

Pollutants discharged from ship breaking and its impact

Though ship breaking has earned a good reputation for being a profitable industry in developing countries there are a number of environmental and human health hazards. Depending on their size and function, scrapped ships have an unladened weight of between 5,000 and 40,000 tons (the average being 13000 plus), 95% of which is steel, coated with between 10 and 100 tons of paint containing lead, cadmium, arsenic, zinc and chromium. Ships also contain a wide range of other hazardous wastes, sealants containing PCBs, up to 7.5 tons of various types of asbestos and several thousand liters of oil (engine oil, bilge oil, hydraulic and lubricants oils and grease). Tankers additionally hold up to 1,000 cubic meters of residual oil. Most of these materials have been defined as hazardous waste under the Basel Convention. In Bangladesh, ships containing these materials are being cut up by hand, on open beaches, with no consideration given to safe and environmentally friendly waste management practices. Ships are not properly cleaned before beaching. Generally, an eyewash test is carried out to certify that a ship is free from dangerous chemical and fumes.

Ship breaking activities is a threat to both the terrestrial and marine environment as well as to public health. It is like a mini version of a city that discharges every kind of pollutants a metropolis can generate like liquid, metal, gaseous and solid pollutants.

Persistent Organic Pollutants (POP's) 

POPs are chemicals that are highly toxic, remain intact in the environment for long periods, become widely distributed geographically, bioaccumulated through the food web, accumulate in the fatty tissue of living organisms and pose a risk of causing adverse effects to the human population, wildlife and the environment. There has been a realization that these pollutants, upon exposure of human population, can cause serious health effects ranging from increased incidence of cancers to disruption of hormonal system. Ship breaking activities are a source of lethal POPs.

Asbestos
Asbestos was used in old ships as a heat insulator. As there are no asbestos disposal procedures, during scrapping, workers and the surrounding environment are exposed to the asbestos fibers. Exposure to asbestos fibers (even in very low concentrations) especially through inhalation may cause cancer and asbestosis. On the ship breaking beaches, asbestos fibers and flocks fly around in the open air. Workers take out asbestos insulation materials with their bare hands.

It has also proven to be one of the most lethal, as inhaling asbestos fibers can lead to a wide range of pulmonary problems such as asthma and asbestosis - and can also be the direct cause of mesothelioma.

Heavy metals
Heavy metals are found in many parts of ships such as in paints, coatings, anodes and electrical equipment. These are taken apart with no protective measures in place and reused. Exposure can result in lung cancer, cancer of the skin, intestine, kidney, liver or bladder. It can also cause damage to blood vessels.

Oil pollution
As a result of breaking the ships, oil residues and the other refuses are being spilled, mixed with the sea water and left floating along the entire seashore. Oil may cause serious damage in different ways, such as a reduction of light intensity beneath the water surface which inhibits photosynthesis. Oil films on water reduce the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide across the air-sea interface which is harmful to aquatic life. It also causes damage to the bird population by coating their feathers with oil which causes buoyancy and insulation losses. Sometimes spilling may cause wide spread mortality amongst the population of fish, mammals, worms, crabs, mollusks and other water organisms.

Impact of ship breaking on physiochemical properties of seawater


Ship scrapping activities pollute the seawater environment in the coastal area of Fauzdarhat to Kumira of Chittagong, Bangladesh. As a result, toxic concentration of ammonia, marine organisms found in seawater had an increase in PH levels. Extensive human and mechanical activities accelerate the rate and amount of seashore erosion and results in higher turbidity of seawater. Critical concentration of DO (Dissolved Oxygen) and higher BOD (Biochemical Oxygen Demand) were found with an abundance of floatable materials (grease balls and oil films) in the seawater. 

Impact of ship breaking on inter-tidal sediments and soils 

In ship breaking areas various refuse and disposable materials are discharged and spilled from scrapped ships and often get mixed with the sand. The scraps from the ships are staked haphazardly on the sea shore, leaving behind an accumulation of metal fragments and rust (particularly iron) in the soil. These together with extensive human and mechanical activities often go on as matter of routine work resulting in the beach soil losing its binding properties and this accelerates the amount of shore erosion and increase the turbidity of sea water and sediments in the area.

Impact of ship breaking on biodiversity

Ship breaking activities contaminate the coastal soil and sea water environment mainly through the discharge of ammonia, burned oil spillage, floatable grease balls, metal rust (iron) and various other disposable refuse materials together with high turbidity of sea water. The high PH of the seawater and soil observed may be due to the addition of ammonia, oils and lubricants. High turbidity of water can cause a decrease in the concentration of DO and substantially increase the BOD. Furthermore, oil spilling may cause serious damage by reduction of light intensity, inhibiting the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide across the air-sea water interface, and by acute toxicity. As a result the growth and abundance of marine organisms especially plankton and fishes may seriously be affected. Indiscriminate expansion of ship breaking activities poses a real threat to the coastal inter-tidal zone and its habitat.

Ship breaking yards are benefiting our economy to some extent providing job opportunities to the marginal people and meeting the needs of steels in home market, but it cautioned the environmentalist about its tomorrow’s impacts.  Environmentalist asked for heeding not to bring any toxic vessels and making the ship breaking zone clean and healthy. Someone opined its drawbacks will exceed benefits.

[This Article was prepared on April, 2011]

A Writer's Philosophy: Mixture of Freud-Science and Reality

A rendezvous of friends was addressing provocation to the Edtior of the Bichitra, the then renowned literature magazine, not publishing their writing. An active listener opined every editor appreciates quality writings and you couldn’t write appreciably thus your write up didn’t publish. In a position, he had to take bait that his writing will be published on Bichitra. Then, he wrote a short story on the human-creature manifesting how love and affiliation reacts on them. After a month later a person came to his home with the reward of his writing that published on Bichitra. That was the evolution of a literature legend. But that was nor a sudden triumph over a bait. Before, he really had efficient hand of writing and practiced Bankim-Taghore-Shorot and eventually faded off these predecessors illustrating social phenomenon in his novels. He didn’t overlap rather filled the unfinished way of the kollol Writers (Progressive writers).

His real name was Provodkumar Bondopadday, however he introduced himself as Manik that was his family name. Manik was born at the end of the first decade of 20th century, the moment Kollol Era in Bengali literature mainly dominated by the progressive writers. He was greatly influenced by the then writers who would analyze human psychology from social perspective. Manik’s background education was in science and whenever he wrote anything would search for any scientific reason and reality. In Bengali literature he first analyzed Freudian psycho-analytic theory illustrating real scenario. In his 48 years life he enriched Bengali literature with about 40 novels, 15 short stories; single poetry and article.

His first novel Janani (Mother), he elucidated how a mother’s usual life changes as time goes. Here, we can see how changing moment’s impacts on interactive behavior between mother and a child; child-mothers relation and psychological changes behind lively presentation of the characters. His most renowned novel is Padma Nodir Maji (Boatman of Padma) is a masterpiece of Bengali literature. The nature, its creatures and marginal people’s life in the riverside where light of the civilization yet to reach established a sphere of life by this novel. A boatman’s life in the deep river, interaction with fraud peoples explains lifestyle of the particular segment of the vast world. Individuals bit emotion folding family life and hazards, self defense and most importantly influence of somatic needs in individual’s life which neglect many others needs with foods needs were most dominant phenomenon of this novel.

Another novel Putul Nacher Itikotha (Legend of Puppet Show) is another masterpiece of Bengali literature illustrated how people, themselves, prove puppet by their collective behavior. Once, he uttered every novelist must have scientific outlook over his novel and he proved this philosophy showing a scene of a dead body died by thunder stroke that was frightened by a young boy who was a doctor reproached by superstition. Here, The boy feared to touch the dead body. In this novel he showed the lifestyles of the Bengali middle class peoples, their tiresome life-cycle, differences between emotional behavior and somatic needs bloomed in the characters, the total scenario proved the peoples are the real puppet, danced by nature, society and their needs.

In Omritosso putro, he elucidated conjugal conflicts that usually seen in the society and male’s attitude to polygamy. Ethics is unparallel whatever ones predecessors done. In the novel shortoli he explained working class peoples story of passing life of abject poverty in the voluptuous society how a woman protect herself from the sexual appetite people. In ‘aroggo’ he first showed his Marxist philosophy, here he screened life and mental expression; and tried to prove physic problem emits from social problem.

His short story’s were more analytical and constructive. Sexual behavior in peoples life, conflicts in minds, deprivation among classes, love for somatic satisfaction, god’s deprivation and discrimination was questioned in the light of social manner. Manik had only an article namely ‘Lekhoker kotha’ explained his ideology for writing, profession and stories behind taking this profession. In some of his articles he criticized the modern progressive writers and their business orientation writings.

He couldn’t complete his formal education for fascination of writings. Healing from a solvent family he lived slums or with abject people to understand life and values. However, this is only one person who took writing as profession and income generating source. With that we worked as associate Editor of ‘Bangoshri’. We believed in Marxist political philosophy and became a member communist party. After Shorot and other kolllol writers Manik Bondopadday showed much Excellency in analyzing human behavior and social context and his tools were Freudian theory, science, and reality; thus to some extent his excellent writing exceeds his kollol predecessors.

Bangladesh’s Promised Treasure of the Future

Disputes against our existence

A few years ago, a study from United Nations Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC) forecast Bangladesh, a country of more than 200 rivers, soon will be swallowed by the sea water of Bay of Bengal. They mentioned a time line, after the year 2050, southern part of the country will be submerged and 20 million people will be victim of climate migration.

Another study from NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS), its director once divulged, at the end of the current 21st century the whole Bangladesh will go underneath the sea water. This report firstly published in British newspaper Guardian, this bombard news not only shook the Bangladeshi environmental analyst but also thundered the other Island countries unlike Bangladesh.

Recently Center for Environment and Geography Information Service (CEGIS) elucidated the report published by IPCC scrutinized only the effect of rise in sea water level and river erosion but put aside another vital issue-formation of new lands made by silts of the major rivers. With that, Bangladesh Water Development Board taking research on this criticized the IPCC report and proved it as ordinary and created with sense of motivation. They also researched about new land formation by silt up process. Billions of tons of alluvial deposits are gathering to the estuary of the rivers specially on Meghna which falls to the Bay of Bengal. Silts to the estuary of the river are creating a new Bangladesh changing the map and widening the area. CEGIS said, till now about 55,598 Square km added with Bangladesh by this silt up process.

Formation of New lands

About 5000 years ago most of the lands of Bangladesh weren’t in existence except Chittagong hill tracts and small hills of Sylhet and Comilla. At that period southern part of present Bangladesh was under sea water, later the whole country was structured through alluvial by the rivers Ganga, Brahmaputra and Meghna. The newly made place took an appearance like as Greek letter delta (in Bengali it is called Bodip) and it has become the largest Delta of the world. Present Meherpur, Shatkhira, Khulna, Bagherhat, Barisal, Pirojpur, Bhola districts are the gift of Bay of Bengal. According to IPCC, now, these lands are in risk of extinction. Due to global climate change, icebergs are melting consequently increasing in rise in sea water level and once this sea water will grasp Bangladesh.

Bangladesh is most vulnerable in natural disasters. In last centuries’ 50th and 60th decades several dams were built in coastal belt for protecting disasters like as flood or high tide, but in fact this gave Bangladesh extra land next to coastal area. These lands were also gift of silts as flood and high tide thrown silts to the area of the dam. CEGIS, in a report illustrated, after 1973 the satellite give proof of achieving new lands of 1000 square km by silts. In last 32 years research gave evidences that rivers from Himalaya every year adding 20 square km with our country map, this pushing the coastal line to deep sea. In last 200 years experiences, from 1780 to 1980, Bangladesh got 629 square km of silted land adjacent to coastal line.

Approximately 50-60 years ago South Talpotti, Nijum Dip, Urirchor and many other small islands were below sea water. With these (excluding South Talpotti) there are many secret islands that appeared on the basis of tide. Some secret islands are now established islands. Bangladesh has more or less 40 small islands, most of which are in between mouth of river Tetulia and Feni River created by the siltation of Meghna.

But, these islands are destroyed by cyclone, high tide and river erosion. From a sense this erosion is lacking less benefit. Moreover these destroyed soils are shifting towards the sea shore as cycle proceeds to landslides. By this process secret islands are destroying and seashore is filling with silt-soils. This natural system is widening landslides from south to north, not east to west. 300 years ago coastal belt line was 290 km and now it is approximately 314 km. From this comparison researchers explained coastal sea shore widened 28 km. However, negative changes in islands like Bhola, Hatia, Sandip also seen over the years. But, in comparison between the build up and destruction process this comparatively enlarging total area of Bangladesh.

Promised treasure of the future

Generally every sea is geographically defined into three sections- seashore, continental shelf, and continental slope. Continental shelf has slight slopes and covering depth 300m and 30 km width. In Bangladesh through the rivers Ganga, Brahmaputra, Meghna every year more than 2.4 billions of silt mixed with rain or flooded water falls to Bay of Bengal. But, most of the silts are shifting to the continental slope by high tide and continental shelf remaining unchanged. Bangladesh needs to fill the continental shelf but it isn’t happening. If Bangladesh builds dike or concrete dam in the continental shelf region it can grasp the silts and achieve huge amount of lands. These processes may give Bangladesh extra 10,000 square km.

Eventually, When global media and research organizations are questioning about existence of Bangladesh, it is the time to initiate a new era utilizing new technology of concrete dam or Dike for congregation of silts which can give birth of more lands. It should be recognized that every year Bangladesh loses bulk of land by river erosion but this can be retained by dam or Dikes. Thus, usages new technology can save 4000-5000 square km as well. We should consider about this promised treasure of the future.

[This article was prepared on February, 2011]