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Environmental hazards associated with open-beach breaking of end-of-life ships: a review

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Abstract

End-of-life (EOL) ships contribute significantly to the flow of recycled industrial Fe and non-Fe metal materials in resource-poor developing countries. The ship scrapping (breaking) and recycling industry (SBRI) recycles 90–95% of the total weight of EOL ships and is currently concentrated in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Turkey, and China, due to the high demand for recyclable and reusable materials there, an abundance of low-cost labor, and lenient environmental regulations. However, the SBRI has long been criticized for non-compliance with standards relating to occupational health, labor safety, and to the management of hazardous materials. Among the different EOL recycling options, Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan use open beaching, a technique that exposes all spheres of the environment to the release of hazardous materials from EOL ships. This article summarizes the current state of knowledge on the environmental exposure of hazardous materials from SBRI, to judge the risks associated with the dismantling of EOL ships on open beaches. Our work includes an overview of the industry and its recent growth, compares available ship-breaking methods, provides an inventory of hazardous releases from EOL ships, and reviews their movement into different spheres of the environment. The economic dynamics behind open beaching, and apportionment of responsibility for hazards related to it, are discussed, in order to generate policy and legal recommendations to mitigate the environmental harm stemming from this industry.

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Funding

This research was partially supported by Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research (15H05118 and 17K00622) from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Kanazawa University, Kakuma, Kanazawa, 920-1192, Japan

    Suman Barua & Iftakharul Alam

  2. Department of Applied Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, University of Chittagong, Chittagong, 4331, Bangladesh

    Suman Barua

  3. Institute of Environmental Radioactivity, Fukushima University, 1 Kanayagawa, Fukushima City, Fukushima, 960-1296, Japan

    Ismail M. M. Rahman & Hikaru Sawai

  4. Institute of Forestry and Environmental Sciences, University of Chittagong, Chittagong, 4331, Bangladesh

    Mohammad Mosharraf Hossain

  5. Venture Business Laboratory, Organization of Frontier Science and Innovation, Kanazawa University, Kakuma, Kanazawa, 920-1192, Japan

    Zinnat A. Begum

  6. Department of Civil Engineering, Southern University, 739/A Mehedibag Road, Chittagong, 4000, Bangladesh

    Zinnat A. Begum

  7. Department of Industrial Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Ibaraki College, 866 Nakane, Hitachinaka City, Ibaraki, 312-8508, Japan

    Hikaru Sawai

  8. Institute of Science and Engineering, Kanazawa University, Kakuma, Kanazawa, 920-1192, Japan

    Teruya Maki & Hiroshi Hasegawa

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Correspondence to Suman Barua, Ismail M. M. Rahman, Mohammad Mosharraf Hossain or Hiroshi Hasegawa.

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Responsible editor: Philippe Garrigues

Suman Barua, Ismail M. M. Rahman, and Mohammad Mosharraf Hossain are the co-first authors.

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Barua, S., Rahman, I.M.M., Hossain, M. et al. Environmental hazards associated with open-beach breaking of end-of-life ships: a review. Environ Sci Pollut Res 25, 30880–30893 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-018-3159-8

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