When Samrat Hossain first started cutting up old ships weighing thousands of tonnes in a southeast Bangladesh shipbreaking yard a decade ago, all he would wear was a cap or a helmet.
But these days, the 27-year-old spends nearly an hour each day before work putting on his protective gear, which includes special masks, gloves, boots, and a suit.
“A lot has changed in the last 10 years. Before, PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) was not a factor. But today we are not allowed to work without it,” said Hossain, an employee of PHP Ship Breaking and Recycling Industries in the coastal city of Chattogram.
It is the nation’s only yard – of a total of about 80 – that complies with international health, safety and environmental rules for the risky occupation.
“It’s not the same everywhere,” added Hossain. “Some workers from other yards told me they buy their own gloves.”
The industry in Bangladesh is evolving to come in line with new regulations, officials say.
The government, through a parliamentary act in 2018, ordered yard-owners to clean up their practices by 2023 and implement standards laid down in the Hong Kong International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships.
That pact, adopted in 2009 and ratified by 17 nations so far, aims to improve worker safety and environmental protection, but has yet to come into force globally.
The changes will include training workers on safety, preventing emissions of ozone-depleting substances, and building storage for toxic waste from ships like asbestos and lead.
Bangladesh is one of the world’s top locations for dismantling end-of-life ships, with at least 144 broken down on its beaches in 2020, or about one in every five worldwide, according to Shipbreaking Platform, a global coalition that campaigns for clean, safe ship recycling.
Most of the others ended up in India, Pakistan, and Turkey.
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