Wednesday, February 15, 2006

Where Do You Dump an Aircraft Carrier?

Well, in India. I've seen some of the disposal methods and they are pretty frightening. But then again, I'm pretty certain that they are the cheapest as well.

Unfortunately, the disposal of this one includes all of the hazardous materials.
When it first took to the seas nearly 50 years ago, the Clemenceau was the crown jewel of French naval prowess. Today, the decommissioned aircraft carrier is an albatross for France amid an uproar over the toxic waste the hulking ship carries.

The saga underlines the trouble many countries face in getting rid of retired vessels. It has also become an embarrassment for the French Defense Ministry, which environmentalists criticize for not addressing the potential risks of sending the ship to India for dismantling.

The problem with all of this is, you really don't know how the disposal came about. I'm betting like most governments they put it out to bid.
Environmentalists insist the Clemenceau should have been cleaned up before leaving port and say France's transfer of the vessel violates the Basel Convention, an international accord on trade in potentially hazardous waste.
I wonder if the intact ship is considered waste by that convention. I know in the US the laws wouldn't call this hazardous waste. I've worked with nuclear and hazardous materials that were moved into a waste stream. That's when the material had to be treated as hazardous waste.
French Defense Minister Michele Alliot-Marie said France had few options other than sending the ship to India.

"There's no solution for dismantling thousands of warships now rusting in certain places in the world, which is extremely harmful to the environment," she said Tuesday on Europe-1 radio. "There are no dismantling yards in Europe; none in the United States."

Wrong. The US does have shipyards that does disposals.

I'm betting this will be a very expensive disposal, and France really shouldn't have tried to pass this off on a company in India.

India doesn't have an asbestos compensation trust. Oh, well, neither do we.


1 comment:

Granted said...

What is it with reporters and facts, especially facts about the military. I see more things factually wrong (let's not talk about conclusions) in more reports that involve the military than in any other instance (except for guns, .9 cal hand cannon anyone?)