The Vadodara-based industrial safety solutions provider Sure Safety on Wednesday said it has decontaminated 500 ships to protect workers from asbestos exposure at the Alang Ship Recycling Yard in Gujarat during the last 21 months.

The Ship Recycling Industries’ Association (SRIA) had outsourced the responsibility of safely removing and managing asbestos containing materials (ACMs) before and during the dismantling of ships to Industrial Hygiene Services (IHS), a group company of Sure Safety, Mr Nishith Dand, Director, told presspersons here.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), about 125 million people globally are exposed to asbestos at the workplace and more than one lakh people die each year from asbestos-related lung cancer, mesothelioma and asbestosis resulting from occupational exposure.

Facing heightened risks of cancer, asbestos-exposed workers also run a greater danger of heart disease and stroke, according to a British report published last month, he said.

Sure Safety innovated negative pressure mobile enclosures for asbestos extraction, which eliminated the need of transporting ACM for management. Also, with Gujarat Alkalies and Chemicals Ltd (GACL), it designed an emergency chlorine leakage control (ECLC) kit to plug chlorine leakage at industries where chlorine is manufactured, handled or transported.

With increased awareness about industrial safety solutions, Mr Dand said India’s market of safety products worth Rs 1,500 crore is expected to increase to Rs 5,000 crore in the next three years.

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