BY DR. KANU PRIYA JAIN AND DR. ANAND
HIREMATH 2018-05-27 21:02:11
Fundamentally, the ship recycling
activity is environmentally conscious and supports sustainability as it reduces
the need to mine virgin metal ore. However, the ship recycling industry is
under constant scanner of international environmental groups for causing harm
to the environment and human health and safety. In this article, we shed light
on the health, safety and environment (HSE) procedures followed at ship
recycling yards in Alang which hold statements of compliance (SoC) with the
Hong Kong Convention (HKC) issued by IACS-member classification societies such
as ClassNK, RINA and IR Class.
Infrastructure
Within the past few years, we have seen
tremendous changes in the HSE standards at the ship recycling yards in India as
currently 61 yards (almost half of the active yards) in Alang hold valid HKC
SoC. This has resulted in improved infrastructure as well as in the
implementation of standard operating procedures at ship recycling yards.
The compliant yards in Alang use
impervious flooring to undertake cutting operations of blocks obtained from
ships into smaller pieces as well as to keep machinery and electrical
equipment. At the same time, hazardous waste obtained from dismantling ships is
kept at dedicated storage rooms also fitted with impervious floors. The use of
impervious flooring for secondary cutting and storage prevents the seepage of
oil, chemicals, heavy metals and other hazardous materials into the soil.
For yards holding HKC SoC, it is
compulsory to inspect blocks dismantled from ships since only clean blocks are
allowed to fall in the inter-tidal zone during low tide. Such blocks must be
immediately lifted and placed on impervious floor for further cutting. In most
cases, almost all blocks are made to fall within the vessel to prevent polluting
the soil and sea water. In a few yards, heavy cranes are fixed close to the
inter-tidal zone that can reach from forepeak to aft of the vessel, and every
block is lifted by cranes and placed on impervious floor meeting the EUSRR
requirements.
Waste Management
All recycling yards in Alang are obliged
to use government approved sub-contractors to manage waste generated during the
ship recycling process. Various government agencies have approved
sub-contractors to undertake activities such as asbestos decontamination,
disposal of special hazardous wastes including garbage, batteries, bilge water,
electronic waste, cables, bio-medical waste, ozone-depleting substances, etc.,
and dismantling activities related to smoke detectors, removal of oil and oily
waste such as rags, sand, sludge, etc.
There are also specialized approved
agencies to issue naked light certificates (hot work permits) and permits for
confined space entry. Moreover, cutting work can only be started on a ship once
a decontamination certificate is issued by the Gujarat Pollution Control Board
and cutting permission is granted by the Gujarat Maritime Board after a
thorough inspection by the officials.
Training and Welfare
Yards in Alang holding HKC SoC have an
education and training plan for workers in place. This plan consists of
training courses related to general safety, handling and management of
hazardous materials, fire protection and prevention, first aid, oil spill on
sea and plot, gas cutting operation, working at height, confined space entry,
removal of asbestos-containing material, crane and forklift operation,
batteries handling operation, and mock drills on fire-fighting, first-aid,
evacuation, oil/chemical spill on ground or in sea.
We, at GMS, in collaboration with the classification
society IR Class provide frequent training to safety officers and workers of
ship recycling yards located in Alang. Safety training is also provided by
government bodies such as the Gujarat Maritime Board and other stakeholders
including yard owners in collaboration with well-known classification
societies.
In fact, a 12-day training program
organized by the Gujarat Maritime Board is compulsory for all workers working
on ship recycling yards in Alang. Every worker is issued with an identity card
by the Board before they are allowed to work on the yards. Child labor is
strictly prohibited, and every worker is insured with Employees’ State
Insurance Corporation, a scheme run by the government of India. Some yard
owners provide an accommodation facility designed as per ILO standards for
workers.
Standard Operating
Procedures
In order to streamline yard operations,
all yards in Alang holding HKC SoC are required to have standard operating
procedures (SOPs) for various tasks that are required to be undertaken during
recycling of ships. This includes SOPs for safe-for-entry; safe-for-hot work;
welding, cutting, grinding and heating; prevention of falling from heights and
accidents caused by falling objects; housekeeping and illumination; maintenance
and decontamination of tools and equipment; health and sanitation; personal
protective equipment; worker exposure and medical monitoring; emergency
preparedness and response plan (EPRP); fire and explosion prevention, detection
and response; environmental monitoring.
SOPs are also in place for management of
hazardous materials including asbestos, PCBs, ODSs, TBTs, paints, oil, bilge
and ballast water and heavy metals; spill prevention, control and
countermeasures; storm-water pollution prevention; debris prevention and
control; and incident and spills reporting. Also, each HKC-compliant yard has a
dedicated fire-fighting, first aid, oil spill control and emergency response
team.
The SOPs aim to achieve worker safety
and health compliance as well as environmental compliance. Such procedures
would be useful to prevent adverse effects to human health and safety. At the
same time, these procedures will facilitate environmental monitoring,
environmentally sound management of hazardous materials and prevention of
adverse effects to environment.
The SOPs are further supported by the
plethora of records that are required to be maintained by the yards. These
records are audited from time to time by the classification society that
certifies the yard. Moreover, Gujarat Maritime Board is strict with respect to
the implementation of domestic regulations, in particular, the Ship Breaking
Code 2013. Therefore, 11 dedicated safety officers are allotted zone-wise to
ensure safety measures are implemented at yards. There is a provision to impose
fines in case any deviation from the Code is observed.
The improvements related to
infrastructure, waste management, workers’ training and operating procedures
have changed the face of the ship recycling industry in Alang as the process
employed to recycle end-of-life ships now takes care of implications to environment
and workers’ health and safety. The use of technical documents such as the Ship
Recycling Facility Plan (SRFP) for every yard, the Ship Recycling Plan (SRP)
and the Inventory of Hazardous Materials (IHM) for every ship within the
purview of the HKC has also improved the overall recycling process on yards
holding HKC SoC. Some yards in Alang operate with the principle of “one ship
two safety officers” – one safety officer on board and the other on ground – to
ensure the safe and environmentally sound operations.
Shipowners are increasingly recognizing
India as a preferred destination for ‘green’ recycling services. This is likely
to be increased further in the coming years with Chinese market closing for
foreign flagged ships after December 2018. However, it is still not clear what
stance will be taken by the European Commission on the inclusion of Indian
yards in its long-awaited list of approved recycling facilities.
Dr. Kanu Priya Jain and Dr. Anand
Hiremath are part of the Responsible Ship Recycling Dept. at GMS (Dubai).
Source: maritime-executive. 27 May 2018
No comments:
Post a Comment