Ship Breaking Hazardous Waste Disposed off Safely at Alang Yard
All the hazardous waste generated in ship recycling at Alang are being disposed off in safe and environmentally sound manner in Gujarat Pollution Control Board authorized Treatment, Storage and Disposal Facility (TSDF) site operated by Gujarat Maritime Board. Landfills are constructed as per the Guidelines of Central Pollution Control Board and provided with liner system in bottom which prevents leachate to percolate to the sub-soil. Monitoring of environmental parameters is done by Gujarat Pollution Control Board regularly. Regular health checkup for the workers is also conducted by GMB. Environmental Impact Assessment is carried out whenever creation of new yards or expansion and upgradation of existing yards is taken up.
Shipbreaking
The new IMO convention on Ship Recycling and the EU Proposal for Regulation of Ship Recycling are being viewed with concern by ship recyclers in Alang, India. If these come into force it is possible this world’s biggest grave yard for ships will have to close down. Alang is considered natures’ gift to the Indian ship recycling industry. Located in Gujarat, on the West coast of India, the shipyards in Alang recycle approximately half of all ships salvaged around the world. Having come into existence in June 1983, Alang, today encompasses over 180 ship yards stretching across 11 km of the coast line and is presently engaged in dismantling over 150 ships simultaneously. During 2011-12, Alang had achieved a record 415 ships’ demolition.
India Files Pollution Charge after Ship Collision
According to an August 9 report from The Times of India, state environment minister Suresh Shetty has instructed the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board to register an offence against the staff and owners of both the MV Khalijia 3 and MSC Chitra, which collided off the Mumbai coast on the morning of August 8 and now pose an oil spill threat to the city. The MSC Chitra is tilting at an angle of 75 degrees in the sea and some 250 of its containers-which have hazardous chemicals-are floating off the Mumbai coast. (Source: The Times of India)
