CPM worried by French ship heading for Gujarat
NEW DELHI: The CPM has taken strong objection to the move to dismantle decommissioned French aircraft carrier Clemenceau at Alang (Gujarat), Asia’s largest ship-breaking yard, for scrap.
The ship contains as much as 500 tonnes of deadly asbestos. The French Navy ship, sold to Ship Decommissioning Industry Corporation (SDIC), registered in Panama, left France on December 31 on her last journey to the Indian yard.
Several trade unions such as the CPM-affiliated CITU and environmental activists like Greenpeace and Ban Asbestos Network in France, a Supreme Court Monitoring Committee on Hazardous Wastes have recommended that the Clemenceau should not be allowed to enter Indian waters as it would constitute violation of the Basel Convention on Trans-boundary Movement of Hazardous Wastes.
“This is the ugly face of capitalist globalisation. Some people make millions, while others, mostly the poor in developing countries, have to pay a heavy price. India is becoming a dumping ground for the toxic garbage of the West which finds it too harmful to handle, too polluting to retain, and too expensive to clean up. So the nasty job is simply outsourced to developing countries,” said the CPM’s official weekly Peoples’ Democracy.
The SDIC will make a very tidy profit as also the Indian companies contracted to handle shipbreaking ----- Shree Ram Vessels Pvt. Ltd and the Luthra Group given the relatively low costs of transportation and labour involved in Alang.
“But the cost to the health and even lives of those helpless unorganised workers will be enormous. Workers at Alang will be exposed to huge quantities of deadly asbestos and a host of other highly toxic substances contained in the inards of the ship as they break it up and strip it by hand using primitive tools and with no protective gear or specialised training,” the CPM said.
The toxic materials will then have to be disposed of somewhere in a landfill contaminating air and ground water and exposing others to the ill effects of the toxic waste, the party said.
Decrying that the Gujarat government, union ministry of environment and forests is “openly favouring the deal”, the party said France committed a “gross illegality”.
The party said it was a matter of concern that France, a signatory to the Basel Convention, was doing it.
“Asbestos fibres and dust are known to cause lung cancer and mesothelioma, a particularly virulent and fatal cancer. Asbestos has been responsible for over 200,000 deaths in the USA and the EU estimates that about 500,000 people will die in Europe over the next 30 years due to mesothelioma and lung cancer caused by asbestos,” the CPM said.
The ship contains as much as 500 tonnes of deadly asbestos. The French Navy ship, sold to Ship Decommissioning Industry Corporation (SDIC), registered in Panama, left France on December 31 on her last journey to the Indian yard.
Several trade unions such as the CPM-affiliated CITU and environmental activists like Greenpeace and Ban Asbestos Network in France, a Supreme Court Monitoring Committee on Hazardous Wastes have recommended that the Clemenceau should not be allowed to enter Indian waters as it would constitute violation of the Basel Convention on Trans-boundary Movement of Hazardous Wastes.
“This is the ugly face of capitalist globalisation. Some people make millions, while others, mostly the poor in developing countries, have to pay a heavy price. India is becoming a dumping ground for the toxic garbage of the West which finds it too harmful to handle, too polluting to retain, and too expensive to clean up. So the nasty job is simply outsourced to developing countries,” said the CPM’s official weekly Peoples’ Democracy.
The SDIC will make a very tidy profit as also the Indian companies contracted to handle shipbreaking ----- Shree Ram Vessels Pvt. Ltd and the Luthra Group given the relatively low costs of transportation and labour involved in Alang.
“But the cost to the health and even lives of those helpless unorganised workers will be enormous. Workers at Alang will be exposed to huge quantities of deadly asbestos and a host of other highly toxic substances contained in the inards of the ship as they break it up and strip it by hand using primitive tools and with no protective gear or specialised training,” the CPM said.
The toxic materials will then have to be disposed of somewhere in a landfill contaminating air and ground water and exposing others to the ill effects of the toxic waste, the party said.
Decrying that the Gujarat government, union ministry of environment and forests is “openly favouring the deal”, the party said France committed a “gross illegality”.
The party said it was a matter of concern that France, a signatory to the Basel Convention, was doing it.
“Asbestos fibres and dust are known to cause lung cancer and mesothelioma, a particularly virulent and fatal cancer. Asbestos has been responsible for over 200,000 deaths in the USA and the EU estimates that about 500,000 people will die in Europe over the next 30 years due to mesothelioma and lung cancer caused by asbestos,” the CPM said.
posted by Chris Placitella | 9:14 AM
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