Palawan river poisoned with cancer-causing chemicals- Kalikasan PNE

Palawan river poisoned with cancer-causing chemicals- Kalikasan PNE


By INA ALLECO R. SILVERIO
Bulatlat.com
Environmental groups are pointing an accusing finger at irresponsible mining operators for the worsening state of the Palawan river.

According to the Friends of the Earth Japan (FoE-Japan) and the Kalikasan People’s Network for the Environment (Kalikasan PNE), nickel mining operations in Palawan Island is to blame for the contamination of the Palawan river system. They said the river is already poisoned with unsafe levels of carcinogenic or cancer-causing chemicals.

During a recent present conference in Quezon City, the groups presented findings from an environmental field research study conducted in a river located downstream near the Rio Tuba Nickel Mining Corporation’s (RTNMC) mining operations and the Coral Bay Nickel Processing Plant’s operation.

The study, which started in 2009, analyzed water samples and revealed that present levels of hexavalent chromium (Cr-VI), a toxic and carcinogenic chemical, had already exceeded safe levels in the Togupon River. It showed that present levels of Cr-VI contamination in water samples from the Togupon River ranged from 0.1 to 0.3 milligrams per liter (mg/L). This exceeds the Philippines’s Cr-VI effluent standard of 0.1 to 0.2mg/L.

In the meantime, the levels of Cr-VI contamination in water samples taken from the Togupon River’s estuary ranged from 0.05 to 0.15mg/L—exceeding both the Philippine’s Cr-VI environmental standard of 0.05 to 0.1mg/L and the Japanese environmental standard of 0.05mg/L by one to three times over.

A researcher from FoE-Japan Hozue Hatae said the water contamination originated either from upstream mining or refinery operations.

Togupon River runs through the area where the nickel mining operations of RTNMC and the nickel processing facility of Coral Bay Nickel Corp. (CBNC) are located. Both projects are financed and pursued in partnership with Japanese multinational corporations and institutions, such as the Japan Bank for International Cooperation and the Nippon Export and Investment Insurance..... MORE

Source:  Bulatlat.com

URL: http://bulatlat.com/main/2012/02/25/palawan-river-poisoned-with-cancer-causing-chemicals-kalikasan-pne/