Table 3
![Major health hazards and diseases of ship scraping workers at Chittagong coast [n= 216].](profile/Asm_Saifullah2/publication/236015280/figure/tbl2/AS:670359405752344@1536837545603/Major-health-hazards-and-diseases-of-ship-scraping-workers-at-Chittagong-coast-n-216.png)
Source publication
![Table 2 . Worker's demand to improve the major problems [n= 216].](profile/Asm_Saifullah2/publication/236015280/figure/tbl1/AS:670359405740068@1536837545580/Workers-demand-to-improve-the-major-problems-n-216_Q320.jpg)
Ship dismantling in Chittagong coast, Bangladesh is a matter of environmental, health and safety concern. Workers break the obsolete vessels with no protection from explosions, infiltration of asbestos, heavy metals, oil residues, TBT, PCBs, or a cocktail of toxic chemicals contained in the ship. Most of the workers are not aware of the ship borne...
Context in source publication
Context 1
... respiratory problems as identified among the workers are asthma, pneumonia, chest pain, cough and sputum. Abdominal, urinary, muscle and skin problems as well as nutritional deficiency are also identified among the workers, which are mainly caused due to toxic metal, oil and chemical contaminations as well as excessive work load, long working hour, monotonous works, irregular eating, insufficient diet, unsafe drinking water, inadequate sanitation, and the likes ( Table 3). Most of the workers were found to suffer from multiple diseases and health hazards. ...
Citations
... Generally, workers continue their work such as cut down steel plates without uniforms, protective gloves, boots and goggles. Workers, local community, beach, coastal water, biodiversity, ground water and air all are at risk during this process, (Shahadat, 2008). Workers sometimes use handheld blowtorches, cutters and other tools to strip those are decades old vessels, and they continuously transport the jagged scrap metals with bare hands to reusing. ...
Poor occupational health and safety at the expense of many lives and livelihoods that hinder economic growth in ship breaking industry of Bangladesh. Poor and unsafe working conditions are both causes and consequences of extreme poverty with life risk, both reinforce each other negatively. The significance of occupational health and safety is particularly strong in countries like Bangladesh where it is not addressed or explored. The main problems mentioned by the workers are low wages, irregular wages, overtime, lack of medical facilities, dirty working environment, inadequate modern equipment, lack of recreation, lack of job security.41% workers job are contract type, 29% have no training facility, 53% not use safety equipment, 48% feel unsafe this job. The workers of this industry are exposed to an extremely risky and toxic working environment which makes them vulnerable to physical and psychological disorder as well as to accidental injury and deaths. Still, workers embrace these risks with very poor wages. So occupational health and safety in this industry of Bangladesh should be a higher priority in discussions of extreme poverty, its consequences and a sustainable development should be taken to minimize the impacts of ship breaking activities in coastal zone.
... Workers also suffer from minimal access to health services and inadequate housing, welfare and sanitary facilities. Most of these workers are temporary, contractual, migrant and child laborers who also have to bear adverse consequences of exposure to hazardous wastes and dust particles in the work atmosphere in the form of long-term occupational health hazards such as asbestosis and lung cancer (Hossain et al., 2008;Jobaid, Khan, Haque, & Shawon, 2014;Memon et al., 2016;Sahu, 2014). ...
... Other industrial activities in this region are categorized as re-rolling mills, iron and steel manufacturing. The regional patterns for PCBs, and PAHs, as well as their cross-correlations, point to frequent emissions of these substances, which may be connected to their release or synthesis during combustion processes given that the burning of waste materials was widespread in shipbreaking sites (Hossain et al., 2008). This is further corroborated by the high MDR ratios in sample sites identified as being impacted by ship breaking, which were suggestive of the combustion of wood and grass . ...
... Furthermore, when scrap and organic materials from the ships were burned, PCBs, and PAHs may be produced and/or emitted during combustion (Ruokojärvi et al., 1995;Bailey, 2001;Xing et al., 2009). Given that components from broken ships were processed and treated in Gadani, the higher levels of the same POPs at urban locations may also be connected to shipbreaking operations (Hossain et al., 2008;Randall et al., 2013). The metropolitan regions were downwind from the shipbreaking sites based on the prevailing winds, and air transport may have also contributed to the sample quantities at sampling locations in the urban areas. ...
... Du et al. (2018) have stated that hazardous materials in ship dismantling yards have been detected and a new scenario has been proposed based on green disposal in China. Hossain et al. (2008) investigated the health conditions effect of SDR in Bangladesh by using 216 workers' data. Participatory rapid appraisal (PRA) has been utilized to express the health status of workers and the hazards that faced in terms of occupational health and safety. ...
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The average age of the global merchant fleet has been declining with the increasing number of new ship constructions and dismantled ships. Although a noteworthy part of ship dismantling and recycling (SDR) facilities have been performed in Asian countries, such as India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, SDR facilities have also been increasing in Türkiye. SDR facilities provide substantial economic income and employment opportunities. However, SDR facilities should have been performed in a certain systematic framework by taking necessary precautions since toxic substances from dismantled ships affect the environment and employees’ health. That’s why maritime authorities make an effort to sustain the SDR facilities in the best way in the sense of safety, health, and environment through the European Union (EU) Ship Recycling Regulation (SRR), Basel Convention, and Hong Kong Convention (HKC). In this paper, the global SDR facilities have been evaluated in terms of ship types and their gross tonnages (GTs) over the past 5 years among the leading countries. The number, type, economic life span, steel weight, and light displacement tonnage (LDT) of dismantled ships have been analyzed in Türkiye, especially throughout the COVID-19 pandemic process. To determine the most effective year in terms of SDR, the weighted aggregated sum product assessment (WASPAS) method has been utilized based on scrap steel price, LDT, economic life span, number of dismantled ships, and steel structure weight coefficient of the ship by maritime experts. The year 2017 has been highlighted as the most effective year with a .909 rank value in the last 5 years. In addition to analysis results, the largest amount of scrap steel has been acquired from dry cargo ships, which is the most dismantled ship type under data getting from the SDR facilities in Türkiye. Temporary bans on cruises due to the COVID-19 pandemic have caused more than triple increments in the number of passenger ships (PS) dismantling. This paper will be a quite notable resource for experts, academics, and industry stakeholders in order to explore and compare the SDR process.
Keywords
ship dismantling; ship recycling; COVID-19; scrap steel; passenger ships
... 4 Those who are working for long durations are very vulnerable to different health issues, most notably chronic lung diseases, skin diseases, mesothelioma and hypertension. 5 As such, this study's intent was to determine, both visually and through testing, the health hazards prevalent in those long-term workers. ...
... Based on the above testing, lung health has been predominantly compromised among shipbreaking workers. Restrictive lung disease was a common consequence among the workers.A 2008 paper of workers in Chittagong shipbreaking yards reports high prevalence of selfreported respiratory problems (80.56%) but does not state whether American Thoracic Society (ATS) questions were used.5 A 2003 dissertation on the general health of Bangladeshi shipbreakers reports a 52% prevalence of self-reported respiratory tract illness, which is closer to the 37% prevalence for any respiratory symptom reported here. ...
Background: Shipbreaking workers are vulnerable to
long term health issues resulting from the poor
environmental conditions existing in the shipbreaking
yards of Bangladesh. The objective of this study was to
identify the different respiratory health issues among
longtime shipbreakers.
Materials and methods: This study involved observations
and health testing of 25 workers engaged as shipbreakers
for a minimum of 15 years. Informed written consent was
obtained from each subject and health information was
noted in a predesigned data sheet. Data was compiled and
analyzed using SPSS 20.
Results: The mean age of the shipbreakers were 49.28
years and the mean duration of work was 26.08 years. The
subjects experienced comorbidities such as hypertension
and peptic ulcer disease. Symptoms included cough,
dyspnea on exertion, chest pain, weakness, and body
swelling. Lab data revealed variable results of
hemoglobin, Total Count (TC) Random Blood Sugar
(RBS) serum creatinine, Alanine Transaminase (ALT) and
Aspartate Transaminase (AST). X-ray findings and
spirometry data showed mild to severe lung restriction
with only 28% of the workers having normal spirometry
results. Lung volumes revealed forced vital capacity
(FVC), forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1)
and FEV1/FVC were 2.40±.69, 1.82±.58 and
77.56±16.27, respectively. High Resolution Chest
Tomography (HRCT) showed apical fibrosis,
bronchiectasis, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
(COPD) ground glass opacities, hyperinflated lungs with
bullae and pleural thickening, mediastinal
lymphadenopathy, old Tuberculosis (TB) changes, and
pulmonary calcifications. Thirty-two percent of the
HRCTs were normal.
Conclusions: Shipbreaking workers participating in the
study experienced significant occupational lung-related
issues along with various comorbidities.
Key words: Lung; Restriction; Shipbreakers; Spirometry.
... It is no wonder that work-related illness, injury and even death have become commonplace (as Table 6 shows) (Hossain et al., 2008(Hossain et al., , 2016aMisra 2018). If a worker is injured, disabled (temporarily or permanently) or killed they are often not even acknowledged by the yard owners, never mind compensated. ...
Impacts of global shipping on climate, human health and the ocean.
... Due to a lack of safety measures and information, workers smashing ships on the shore put themselves in danger. Hossain et al. [10] exposed that after ten years of hard work at the yard, degraded health conditions forced them to retire from recyclable operations, and 66 percent were between the ages of 20 and 39. Shipbreaking workers are often untrained and, in some cases, lack even basic training for this dangerous task. ...
The ship recycling sector has been essential in Bangladesh's economic growth over the past few decades. It provides both resources and employment opportunities. However, health and safety concerns have become an issue over time. Hence, this paper presents a survey on occupational health and safety issues of ship recycling yards in Bangladesh. The survey was conducted over seven days. For the survey, two ship recycling yards were chosen. The annual dismantle capacities of the yards are 80000 LDT and 150000 LDT. Furthermore, 107 and 151 workers worked 48 to 60 hours per week in these two yards, respectively, and 66 respondents from each yard completed this survey. Each worker was asked to respond to 20 questions concerning their day-today job in the shipbreaking industry. The survey result suggests there are scopes of improvements in occupational health and safety for the workers. The improvements include updated training programs, accident reporting systems, safety auditing, and sufficient investments. It is expected that this research's outcome will positively impact the working condition of workers and ensure safety for the ship recycling industry as a whole.
... Due to a lack of safety measures and information, workers smashing ships on the shore put themselves in danger. Hossain et al. [10] exposed that after ten years of hard work at the yard, degraded health conditions forced them to retire from recyclable operations, and 66 percent were between the ages of 20 and 39. Shipbreaking workers are often untrained and, in some cases, lack even basic training for this dangerous task. ...
The ship recycling sector has been essential in Bangladesh's economic growth over the past few decades. It provides both resources and employment opportunities. However, health and safety concerns have become an issue over time. Hence, this paper presents a survey on occupational health and safety issues of ship recycling yards in Bangladesh. The survey was conducted over seven days. For the survey, two ship recycling yards were chosen. The annual dismantle capacities of the yards are 80000 LDT and 150000 LDT. Furthermore, 107 and 151 workers worked 48 to 60 hours per week in these two yards, respectively, and 66 respondents from each yard completed this survey. Each worker was asked to respond to 20 questions concerning their day-today job in the shipbreaking industry. The survey result suggests there are scopes of improvements in occupational health and safety for the workers. The improvements include updated training programs, accident reporting systems, safety auditing, and sufficient investments. It is expected that this research's outcome will positively impact the working condition of workers and ensure safety for the ship recycling industry as a whole.
... Moreover, the negligence of national and international health, safety and environmental rules and regulations are observed because of poor management and lack of proper practices (Kutub et al., 2017;Rabbi and Rahman, 2017;Karim, 2009aKarim, , 2009bDemaria, 2016). Many studies have already explored the impact of shipbreaking industries on the environment and human health (Mitra et al., 2020;Awan, 2013;Chowdhury, 2019;Hasan et al., 2013;Hossain et al., 2016;Haque, 2016;Hossain et al., 2008;Kutub et al., 2017;Gunbeyaz et al., 2019). However, the environment and health insecurity nexus because of lack of appropriate implementation of national and international standards of environment, and health and safety regulations so far remained unexplored. ...
Purpose
The shipbreaking sector in Bangladesh has spurred extensive academic and policy debates on relations between shipbreaking industries, environmental degradation and the health security of their workers. As shipbreaking is an economically significant industry in Bangladesh, it needs to implement both domestic and global mechanisms for environmental conservation and the protection of the labourers’ health from environmental risks. The purpose of this paper is to primarily explore the environmental and health security issues in shipbreaking activities in Bangladesh. It also identifies the challenges in implementing the rules and regulations for protecting the health of the workers at shipbreaking yards in Bangladesh and preserving the marine environment.
Design/methodology/approach
This is a qualitative paper based on secondary materials, including journal articles, books and national and international reports. It critically reviews the existing literature, rules, regulations and policing on shipbreaking with a particular focus on the environment and health security of the workers.
Findings
This paper finds that the implementation of the rules and regulations in shipbreaking in Bangladesh is complicated because of weak implementation mechanisms, political and economic interests of the yard owners, lack of coordination among different agencies, lack of adequate training and awareness among the workers and workers’ poor economic condition, which contribute to the degradation of marine and local environments and trigger health hazards among the workers. Therefore, degrading the environment and undermining occupational health and safety regulations have become regular; thus, accidental death and injury to the workers are common in this sector.
Originality/value
This paper is an important study on the issues of workers' health and safety and environmental hazards in the shipyard. It reports how the health security of the workers in shipbreaking yards in Bangladesh is vulnerable, and environmental rules are challenged. Finally, this paper frames some policy implications to safeguard the workers’ health rights and the marine environment.
... Historically, Chittagong is famous for dismantling and/or recycling the old ships in the world. Notably, dismantling and/or recycling of old ships are potential sources of PCBs, PAHs, HCBs etc (Hossain and Islam, 2006;Hossain et al., 2008;Nøst et al., 2015). They may have deployed the PUF-PASs at the vicinity of ship dismantling areas, causing the high concentrations of PAHs (Nøst et al., 2015). ...
Bangladesh is one of the most populated countries in the world. Rapid industrialization and urbanization in the last decades have caused emission of pollutants in the environment. The aim of the study was to assess atmospheric 16 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (Σ16PAH) in Bangladesh using PUF-PASs deployed in 5 metropolitan cities and one large non-metropolitan city from December 2017 to September 2018. Spatial distribution of Σ16PAH ranged from 3.6 ± 1.1 to 22.4 ± 6.9 ng/m³. The maximum concentration of 22.4 ± 6.69 ng/m³ was found on the site-23 (urban), a newly established metropolitan city. Reasonably, the lowest concentration (3.6 ± 1.1 ng/m³) was recorded at the rural site (site-7). Seasonal variation of ∑16PAH was found to be 4.8–28.4, 2.2–12.0 and 2.7–30.5 ng/m³ in the winter, pre-monsoon and monsoon, respectively. Among the PAH isomers, phenanthrene, fluoranthene and pyrene significantly contributed to the total concentrations of PAHs with 30.4, 27.8 and 20.1% in the winter, 18.9, 29.4 and 21.9% in pre-monsoon and 14.2, 29.9 and 21.9% in monsoon, respectively. Seasonal variation of PAHs followed the decreasing order: winter > monsoon > pre-monsoon. Molecular weight-based results revealed that 4- and 3-rings PAHs (4-rings: 53–60%; 3-rings: 23–37%) mostly contributed to the total concentration of PAHs. Diagnostic ratios, PMF model and PCA results suggested that combustion of coal, petroleum, and incineration of biomass/plastics and municipal solid waste are the primary sources of PAHs in Bangladesh. Calculated BaPTEQ and BaPMEQ and ICR values were higher for the children than that of the adults. The higher values of the BaPTEQ and BaPMEQ and ICR compared to those suggested by the WHO and USEPA, imply that population of Bangladesh, particularly children, may be at high risk for health problems from PAHs.
