Toxic ship coming to Turkey: There are 5-10 tons of hazardous substances in its paint alone

Aslı AĞIRDİL - 12punto.com.tr

The decommissioned French-flagged ship Raymond Croze, owned by the French company "Orange", is coming to Turkey for dismantling. The ship, which contains hazardous waste, is expected to reach Aliağa Port today. Experts speaking to 12punto drew attention to the harm the chemicals on board pose to human health and the environment, stating that the ship's arrival in Turkey should be prevented.

After becoming a destination for the world's trash, Turkey has also begun to become a dismantling center for ships containing hazardous materials. Ship dismantling is known as one of the world's controversial sectors, especially due to its effects on the environment and public health. Turkey has already gained a bad reputation as a country debated for the health and environmental impacts of its ship dismantling operations.

The Raymond Croze, which departed from the Port of Toulon on December 18, will be brought to the Aliağa Anadolu Ship Dismantling (AGS) Facility today. Experts anticipate that the ship contains many hazardous substances, primarily toxic and carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) consisting of carbon, hydrogen, and chlorine atoms, furans, dioxins, heavy metals, heavy oils, and tributyltins (TBT). This situation poses a serious threat to the environment, public health, and worker safety.

‘A NOTIFICATION DOCUMENT IS REQUIRED’

Speaking to 12Punto, Former Undersecretary of the Ministry of Environment and Forestry Prof. Dr. Mustafa Öztürk stated that the hazardous substances on the ship must be identified one by one.

"If a ship is to be scrapped or dismantled as scrap in a country, it must first have a notification document. The annex of the notification document must also contain an inventory of hazardous materials. How much asbestos is or is not on the ship, how dangerous other substances are, and whether there are substances that directly cause cancer must be clearly stated in the annex of the notification document. These documents are shared with the public before the ship becomes nationalized.

An inquiry is made to an international organization that regulates the notification document, especially the inventory of hazardous materials. If there are still question marks, help is requested from internationally accredited organizations. With this assistance, hazardous substances, including asbestos, are identified one by one. The identification may take a few days or a few weeks. After identification, it is determined whether it complies with the hazardous material inventory in the annex of the notification document, and in light of this documentation, it is determined that its entry into the country will not be permitted, and how much asbestos is on the ship and that other hazardous waste must be removed from the ship.

When it is dismantled, how it will be dismantled and turned into waste, and furthermore, how this waste will be dumped and where and how it will be disposed of are clearly determined. Afterwards, it is shared with the public by the ministry. A decision on whether the ship will come or not is made accordingly."

COMPETITION IN SHIP DISMANTLING

Öztürk also emphasized that the leading countries in ship dismantling are those with very low environmental sensitivity:

"India, Pakistan, Indonesia, Turkey, and similar countries are in competition in ship dismantling. This is a very troublesome procedure and a sector with money. To lower prices, firms secretly badmouth each other. When a ship is dismantled, they obtain very valuable materials. There is such a market. Most of these markets are in countries where environmental sensitivity is very low. The way to handle this in countries is transparency. You have to be accountable."

THE MINISTRY MUST SHARE THE DOCUMENTS WITH THE PUBLIC

"People living in the Aliağa region of İzmir have significant sensitivity. The ministry can act sensitively to this important concern and share the documents it receives with the public. International experts prepare the report with the people who board the ship and conduct the inspection. Some of the experts who board the ship may be Turkish, and some may be foreign. If they examine it and share this information with each other, a roadmap will emerge. For this reason, the ship can be sent back. These types of ships are already prohibited from entering countries like Turkey under international law if they contain hazardous materials."

‘ONE MUST ASK WHY TURKEY’

In her evaluation of the subject, Chamber of Chemical Engineers President Mehlika Koç stated that the ship should be inspected by relevant non-governmental organizations and should not be allowed to enter Turkey.

Koç stated the following:

"As we know, asbestos is a chemical substance with a very dangerous and risky structure. Furthermore, its use has been banned since 2010. Since ships were produced earlier, the probability of them containing asbestos is very high, and it exists. However, it is always said that there is asbestos on these ships, but there may be much different chemicals besides this. Therefore, the ship should not be allowed into Turkey. According to the Basel Convention, the transport of hazardous waste in international waters is prohibited. Questions such as how a ship containing hazardous waste is coming to our country and why it is being dragged to our country need to be answered."

Koç also emphasized that there are approximately 5-10 tons of hazardous substances in just the paint used on the ship:

“Let's assume that the surfaces of this ship are a minimum of 5000 square meters. 5-10 kg of paint is used per square meter for surface painting on ships. If we take the minimum, there are 25 tons of paint. 25% of these paints are TOXIC elements, and the MINIMUM WEIGHT OF HEAVY METALS, PAH, PCB, ASBESTOS, ETC. SUBSTANCES is between 5-10 tons; it was not even shown in mg in the IHM.”

CAUSES PLEURAL CANCER

"Before the ship arrives at the port in Turkey, its inventory must be determined by authorized authorities. What needs to be done is for a delegation to be determined by relevant non-governmental organizations such as Professional Chambers, the Chamber of Chemical Engineers, the Turkish Medical Association, and the İzmir Bar Association to inspect the hazardous materials on the ship and update the information. The ship dismantling applied in Turkey is also done incorrectly. Ship dismantling is done very brutally and savagely, and this ship dismantling is primarily harmful to the people working there. Apart from that, this waste mixes with groundwater through water, mixes with the air, causes environmental pollution, and the people living there breathe this air. It causes pleural cancer. This ship has countless harms."

THE COUNTRY HAS BECOME A HAZARDOUS WASTE DUMP

Reminding that Turkey also imports trash from foreign countries, Koç said:

"State authorities do not speak out against this situation. It is an association like the Ship Recyclers' Association that inspects this. What is the competence and expertise of the association? The ship should be inspected by a delegation consisting of the institutions and expert individuals I just mentioned. Dismantling should also be carried out under the control of experts. Unfortunately, as a country, we have become a hazardous waste dump, an imported waste dump. The damage we cause to the environment, public health, and groundwater is unfortunately never discussed."