Along the seashores of some developing nations are ship-breaking yards where ships whose useful lifespans are up are gathered from all over the world and dismantled by large teams of manual laborers. The hulls of these ships contain asbestos, PCB's, fuel oil, and other harmful substances, and as there are no proper disposal facilities for these materials they are released into the water and sand at the seashore. This results in damage to the environment, and because of the lack of supervision and poor working conditions also results in a high loss of life and health problems amongst the manual laborers. However, because it is said that up to 90% of a ship's materials can be recycled, the issue of ship recycling is currently gathering the attention of the world.

Japan is a maritime nation with ships all over the world. Furthermore, the area we live, Muroran, is home to steel manufacturing, shipbuilding, and PCB recycling facilities, and here we have the necessary technology to make the best use of these resources without putting an unnecessary burden on the environment. Moving towards this, we have started the Muroran Ship Recycle Study Group, undertaken the recycling of a ship, and in connection with taking positive action for the earth's future, have shared with many people the facts of ship recycling at a symposium in Muroran.

What can we do to help reduce the environmental damage from ship recycling in developing countries and manage these resources more effectively?

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What is Ship Recycling? These are the current conditions of ship recycling in the ship-breaking yards at the seashore of developing nations. Poor working conditions result in a high loss of life and health problems amongst the manual laborers, and there is also a large problem of environmental pollution.	Japan's Standpoint and Obligation Japan is a leading maritime nation with ships all over the world. We believe that in order for us to play our part in helping to reduce environmental pollution and efficiently use the world's resources we have a responsibility to help solve the problem of ship recycling.
Muroran Ship Recycling Study Group Muroran is home to steel manufacturing, shipbuilding, and PCB recycling facilities, and we have the necessary technology to make the best use of these resources without putting an unnecessary burden on the environment. The Muroran Ship Recycle Study Group was founded to further the development of ship recycling here.