Western companies are using China as a dumping ground for ships whose working lives have expired. Greenpeace travelled to four ship breaking yards in China – two located on the Yangtze River and two on the Pearl River delta. Greenpeace focused on the environmental and working conditions at the ship breaking yards, paying particular attention to the handling of hazardous substances. The study also involved sampling and analyses of sediments from the vicinity of the yards to indicate the extent of contamination due to ship breaking activity.