The work is tough and can be dangerous

The report says 15 of the 94 workers tested showed early signs of asbestosis - an incurable disease of the lungs.

The Supreme Court ruled in August that the report be published before it decides if decommissioned French cruise liner the Blue Lady can be broken up.

The ship is contaminated with asbestos and other waste, campaigners say.

This is the first official confirmation that asbestos harms workers at Alang, a charge often made by environmentalists who have long argued that ships brought for dismantling there contain large amounts of hazardous waste.

Activists say the yards are not equipped to handle asbestos.

'Graveyard of ships'

In February, the Supreme Court ordered the Ministry of Environment to form a committee of experts to check if the allegations of asbestos poisoning were correct.

The committee in turn commissioned the Gujarat-based National Institute of Occupational Health to carry out the study.

The institute's director, Dr HN Sayed, told the BBC: "We carried out x-rays on 94 workers and our medical examination has revealed that 15 of them could be suffering from very early stages of asbestos poisoning. We have prescribed more tests to confirm their status."

Dr Sayed says it normally takes 10 years for full-blown asbestosis to develop.

"The first symptom is the shortness of breath. But once a worker suffers from shortness of breath, he no longer can find employment because the job at the yard is very arduous - it involves climbing up and lifting of heavy material."

Dr Sayed says the workers they tested are still "healthy workers and that's why they are working".

Alang, Asia's largest ship-breaking yard, is known as the graveyard of ships. It has been the last port of call for thousands of ships from around the world.

France recalled Clemenceau after negative publicity

Thousands of workers take apart huge liners, past their prime, with their hands and very basic tools.

Alang has been much in news over the past few months.

In February, the French government recalled the decommissioned aircraft carrier Clemenceau en route to Alang after a lengthy campaign by Greenpeace and other environmental groups who said the ship contained huge amounts of toxic chemicals, including asbestos.

In the latest saga, the Blue Lady has been allowed to arrive at Alang but is waiting for clearance to be scrapped.

The Alang Ship Breaking Association has in the past denied charges of asbestos poisoning.