An inquiry has been ordered into reports that an allegedly radioactive contaminated ship from the US has anchored off the Alang coast in Gujarat, Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh said on Thursday.

“We have got complaints that a radioactive contaminated ship has anchored at Alang. We have already ordered an inquiry into the matter and hope to get the report within the next two days,” he told reporters in New Delhi even as environmentalists in Gujarat demanded that the US government recall the ship.

Even as the Gujarat Pollution Control Board (GPCB) has maintained that Platinum II does not pose any danger, environmental experts have said a “huge disaster” is imminent if the vessel sinks or is dismantled at the Alang ship breaking yard.

“The Indian Platform on Ship-breaking, a coalition of environmental, health, labour and human rights, is demanding that the US government recall the ship in the same way the French had recalled Le Clemenceau,” said Gopal Krishna of the group.

According to Naresh Kumar Tabhani, an environmental engineer in charge of the Board’s Bhavnagar unit, a letter to the Ministry of Environment and Forest maintained that the ship contained ‘asbestos-containing material’ (ACM) sheets up to 200 tonnes.

Besides asbestos, up to 20 tonnes of Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) is also onboard the former luxury liner in the form of insulated wiring. “We have to consider the Supreme Court guidelines before beaching permission is granted,” he said.

Kushal Singh Yadav, Toxics Department Co-ordinator at the Center for Science and Environment (CSE), said the chemicals (asbestos and PCBs) and oil onboard Platinum II will leak into the sea damaging flora and fauna. Yadav, citing his experience from visits to the yard on research for CSE in previous years, further said that the yard is “ill-equipped” to handle the chemicals onboard the vessel.

... contd.