RP’s biggest gold miner accused of dumping hazardous waste

BAGUIO, Philippines — Officials of Mankayan town in Benguet province urged the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) on Saturday to crack the whip against the country’s biggest gold producer for throwing hazardous substances into the town’s dump.

“They dug our mountains for gold and back filled it with hazardous substances,” complained Mankayan Mayor Manalo B. Galuten, after the wastes dumped by Lepanto Consolidated Mining Company (LCMC) into the company’s landfill in Sitio Sapid were found to include asbestos containing the cancer-causing amosite.

Galuten said his office got a copy of a laboratory analysis from New Zealand confirming that the asbestos dumped contain 10 percent amosite.

According to the US Environmental Protection Agency, the amosite variety of asbestos was used primarily as a fire retardant in thermal insulation products in old structures like in ceiling tiles. It is now banned in most countries especially because this form of asbestos is highly friable.

“Friable means it crumbles easily when damaged, therefore releasing airborne fibers which can then be inhaled by those in the vicinity of the material causing a cancer form called mesothelioma, a rare type of cancer that most often occur in the thin membrane lining of the lungs, chest, abdomen and heart,” the EPA has explained.

Galuten, now 74-years-old, acknowledged that the huge contribution of LCMC to the Mankayan community in terms of providing employment, but it should not justify the dumping of hazardous wastes.

He said the hazardous waste did not even come from mining operations but imported from other LCMC operational areas.

“I want the company to totally clean their dump and be ready to accept responsibility to whatever sickness the asbestos might cause to exposed residents in the future,” he said. “We will file a case to set an example for large companies not to violate local laws or belittle their host communities,” he said.

Byron Galuten, son and private secretary of the mayor, said they will ask the DENR to do their job and file appropriate criminal or administrative sanctions against the mining firm.

He noted that residents reported around six dump trucks surreptitiously unloading what appeared to be construction debris from ceiling panels and electrical insulations. LCMC accepted the dumping but not the hazardous content of the waste.

He said the dumping was first noticed in April 2008 when residents reported that around six ten-wheeler trucks dumped what appeared to be construction debris in upper tram in Sapid.

Local police led by Sr. Inspector Fernando S. Botangen in their investigation report later confirmed the dumping of dirty white substances in black cellophane bags that were immediately covered with soil by a payloader.

The Sapid barangay council quoted witnesses as saying the wastes were dumped by Shipside Trucking, an LCMC subsidiary, on April 10 and in 2007 in Sitio Tagumbao, Upper Tram in Barangay Sapid.

The Sapid council then approved a resolution asking LCMC to “cease unloading or dumping of the waste (asbestos)” in their barangay and to relocate the wastes to other sites.

Engineer Magellan Bagayao, LCMC resident manager, admitted responsibility but claimed that the wastes were are pads and cushions from the company’s Makati City office that was renovated.

Bagayao admitted in his letter to Mankayan Vice Mayor Paterno Dacanay on May 7, 2008, that in the past 70 years, “the company is committed in the protection of the environment.”

He then promised that “the incident in Sapid will not be repeated.” Bagayao said LCM has employed the services of Servo-Treat Phils., which is accredited by the DENR, to conduct repacking, transport, treatment and disposal of the presumed asbestos containing at their treatment facility in Urdaneta, Pangasinan.

Local officials said they agreed with the treatment plan provided they will witness the hauling and transport.

However, municipal and barangay officials were not informed of the hauling, except for two who accidentally learned about the hauling.

Councilor Mendoza and Barangay Councilman Calapen were told that hauling will resume the following day but when they returned the next day, the whole area was already back filled with soil.

Worse, Sapid residents and officials later learned that only about one- and-a-half load of dirt was hauled as compared to at least six dump trucks that unloaded the construction debris.

Servo-treat President and CEO Dr. Eva F. Vertucio reported to have hauled 8.785 metric tons of soil and construction debris last October 14, 2008 and these were accordingly treated on October 19, 2008. The report also mentioned that the materials are “non-friable asbestos containing materials.”

But samples that were brought by the DENR’s Regional Environment Management Bureau together with the local government to the Saint Louis University laboratory in Baguio City were found to have a 50- percent asbestos.

On the other hand, samples brought by the LCMC Department of Labor and Employment’s Occupational Safety and Health Center in Manila, were found not to contain any type of asbestos.

Amid conflicting laboratory results, DENR representatives agreed with Mayor Galuten to invite a third party preferably from an international laboratory licensed by the National Credentialing Agency (NCA) to undertake another test.

Meanwhile, the hauling out of the presumed asbestos containing debris was put on hold while awaiting the laboratory result from an internationally accredited company. GMANews.TV