The industries ministry
has drafted a guideline on shipbreaking and recycling without complying with
the Supreme Court directive to follow the environmental laws for preparing such
guideline.
Experts say some sections of the draft
that allows import of ships with hazardous substances go against many rules and
laws for preventing environmental pollution and ensuring workers' safety. The
Supreme Court, however, gave directives to prepare the guideline in line with
the laws.
The draft is based on
the abolished Factory Law, 1965 and the Hong Kong Convention that will not take
effect before 2015.
“They cannot follow the Factory Law,
which was abolished in 2006 through formulation of Bangladesh Labour Law,” said
Iqbal Kabir, a lawyer of Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers' Association.
The draft allows import of warships,
nuclear-powered ships and large passenger vessels. But the existing laws
prohibit imports of these ships.
The draft will be placed in the
cabinet today for approval, said a ministry official wishing anonymity.
The draft says importers should submit
lists of “on board” hazardous waste, if any, but it did not mention anything
about “in built” hazardous materials that are used to build ships. These “in
built” substances with high toxicity may cause deadly diseases such as cancer.
The Chittagong coast is already
exposed to deadly hazardous materials such as asbestos, polyurethane foam and
other heavy metals, and liquid organic waste from shipbreaking yards in
Sitakunda.
If these substances get scattered in
the sea by cyclones or tidal surge, they will cause severe sea pollution, says
a recent World Bank report. It said if the current trend continues,
Bangladesh's coastline will face more environmental pollution than Pakistan in
the next two decades.
The industries ministry kept the
draft's English version posted on its website for a month till December 4,
asking for suggestions from the stakeholders concerned.
But the ministry did not take views of
marginal workers although the guideline is meant to ensure their safety.
At least 36 workers were killed and
many others injured in accidents at shipbreaking yards in the last 40 months.
These deaths could have been averted if adequate safety precautions had been
taken at those yards.
The Supreme Court directed the
government to formulate a set of rules by December 14 to free the shipbreaking
industry from pollution and ensure workers' safety. It also asked the
industries ministry secretary to appear before the court with a copy of
government gazette on the rules.
However, the court asked
the ministry to prepare the draft on the basis of the “Basel Convention on the
Control of Trans-boundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal” and
five other laws.
On December 15 last year, an HC bench
asked the government to frame rules in the light of the six existing laws.
The six laws are the Basel Convention
Act, 1989; Bangladesh Environment Protection Act, 1995; Bangladesh Marine and
Fisheries Ordinance, 1989; Bangladesh Labour Act, 2006; Bangladesh Territorial
Water and Maritime Zone Act, 1974; and Environment Protection Rules, 1997.
Industries Ministry Secretary KH Masud
Siddiqui said, “We tried our best to comply with the Supreme Court directives.”
He admitted that the new guideline is
based on the Hong Kong Convention, and said they had taken into consideration
stakeholders' observations while drafting the guideline.
The government in February decided to
give the shipbreaking industry a formal shape by bringing the sector under the
rules of business of the industries ministry.
Earlier, the environment and forest
ministry prepared a guideline on shipbreaking and recycling. The government
published a gazette on it on February 28.
The guideline contained some
provisions for reducing environmental pollution and ensuring workers' safety.
But the industries ministry ignored the guideline while drafting the latest
one.
In March 2009, the High Court directed
the government to draw up rules and guidelines for ensuring workers' safety,
and not to allow import of any hazardous vessels.
Source:
The Daily Star. By Pinaki Roy. 12 December 2011
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