France removes toxic wastes from ship for India

     Alang (Gujarat): Owner of the French aircraft carrier 'Clemenceau' said on Wednesday that the hazardous waste had been cleaned from the decommissioned ship and it was coming to India. The ship set sail from the French naval base of Toulon last week for the massive Alang ship-breaking yard in Gujarat, despite protests in France.

   Mukesh Patel, the owner, said the ship left the port after it got clearance from the French government and court, which followed basic conventions stated by the European Union. "The ship is coming after being cleaned. It would be the first ship in Alang that is coming after being cleaned by French government and companies. It has followed basic rules of the European countries that no hazardous waste should leave port. They give licence only after a ship is cleaned. So, unless and until the government finds clean and grants export license, the ship cannot leave. The ship also got court 's permission before getting clearance from the port," said Patel. The French embassy said that the most dangerous work of removing 115 tonnes of brittle asbestos had been done in France and the remaining amount in the ship was there as the carrier had to be kept seaworthy for its final voyage to India. Patel said the ship would be cleared of the litter once it reaches Alang for dismantling.

   Greenpeace, the environmental group that held protests urging Paris and New Delhi not to allow the Clemenceau to reach the ship-breaking yard on Tuesday, said the decommissioned ship -- which served in the 1991 Gulf War -- was fitted with hundreds of tonnes of hazardous material, including 500 tonnes of asbestos. Indian environment officials, however, have yet to react to Greenpeace's concerns. Greenpeace said in a report published in December that thousands of workers- involved in the shipbreaking industry in countries such as India, Pakistan and China-have probably died over the past two decades due to accidents or exposure to toxic waste. Exposure to asbestos can damage the lungs, and long-term inhalation can lead to lung cancer.