Asbestos is a danger to everyone because the fibers penetrate deep into the lungs when inhaled. Asbestos causes lung cancer, asbestosis and mesothelioma (a form of cancer caused only by asbestos) with no known safe level of exposure.
Asbestos poses more serious threats to workers, their families and the community due to unsafe asbestos removal at the MTPP as shown below. (A worker at the MTPP was able to take pictures and videos of the asbestos removal.)
More than a hundred workers may be at risk because of unsafe asbestos removal at the retired Manila Thermal Power Plant (MTPP) in Isla de Provisor in Paco, Manila.
Hundreds of metric tons of asbestos wastes are being removed at the MTPP after the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management (PSALM) sold it to Gagasan Steel for $2.5 million. Gagasan Steel, a metal scrapper, is dismantling the MTPP building and equipment and must clean up the site.
Asbestos is a danger to everyone because the fibers penetrate deep into the lungs when inhaled. Asbestos causes lung cancer, asbestosis and mesothelioma (a form of cancer caused only by asbestos) with no known safe level of exposure.
Asbestos poses more serious threats to workers, their families and the community due to unsafe asbestos removal at the MTPP as shown below. (A worker at the MTPP was able to take pictures and videos of the asbestos removal.)
Proper enclosure
Proper asbestos removal seals the building with plastic with required thickness to avoid escape of asbestos fibers into the air and the environment.
Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Administrative Order (DAO) 2000-02 and DAO 2003-03 require safe demolition, removal, handling and disposal of asbestos based on national and international standards.
MTPP ‘enclosure’
The on-going asbestos removal work at the Manila Thermal Power Plant does not comply with safe removal as shown by the picture to the left.
The wind blown enclosure does not trap asbestos fibers but merely covers and hides the activities inside the building.
The ‘enclosure’ let asbestos dust escape to the air and asbestos debris falls to the ground, showing the unsafe asbestos removal.
Proper sealing of enclosure in a building
Proper removal requires sealing the area in the building before removal starts. A decontamination area for entry and exit prevents asbestos fibers from going outside the enclosed area.
DAO 2003-03 requires a negative air pressure unit and hepa-filter equipped air pump attached to the enclosure to suck, filter and trap asbestos fibers.
MTPP no sealing and no enclosure process
Asbestos dust is visible in both pictures above at the Manila Thermal Power Plant. Asbestos is treated as ordinary waste as it is allowed to be airborne with substantial quantity compared with the microscopic permissible limit.
In the picture to the right, a worker is seen shoveling dry asbestos resulting in huge quantities of asbestos dust and fibers going airborne and mostly straight to the face of the worker holding the plastic bag. (View video footages of asbestos removal at the MTTP at www.youtube.com/mtppkadire .)
Acceptable asbestos in the air is not seen by the naked eye even at 2 fibers per cubic centimeter in an eight hour time average – an obsolete standard followed by the DENR and the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).
Demolition workers exposed to asbestos
Unprotected workers on the ground are exposed to asbestos debris and dust as seen in this photo at the MTPP. These are demolition workers not involved in the asbestos removal works.
The demolition of the building must only start after completion of asbestos removal for safety concerns. That is not the case at the Manila Thermal Power Plant.
Many workers in the compound wear only dust masks or cloth covers on their faces. These ‘improvised’ PPEs cannot protect them against asbestos fibers. A foreign official of Gagasan Steel reportedly replied “Asbestos, no problem” when workers requested for dust masks.
Not only workers at the Manila Thermal Power Plant are threatened by asbestos hazards but also their families because of asbestos brought home with clothes and protective equipment from work.
No amount of asbestos is considered safe. A worker exposed to asbestos is more likely to get an asbestos disease. Asbestosis and lung cancer are dose-related diseases, meaning the more asbestos one breathes, the more likely the person is to get sick. Mesothelioma is different – it can be obtained from very small amounts of asbestos. Asbestos workers’ families may get mesothelioma from the dust the workers brought home on their clothes, or from exposure to houses, buildings and materials with asbestos.
Asbestos debris on the ground
The ground at the Manila Thermal Power Plant contains asbestos debris from asbestos removal as seen in these pictures. The debris further endangers the workers and the people in the community since asbestos fibers go airborne as long as they are exposed in the environment.
Wetting asbestos
Proper wetting before asbestos removal.
Washing dust on the ground.
Asbestos dust should not reach the ground in the first place. But a worker at the Manila Thermal Power Plant washes the dust on the ground in this picture.
Asbestos should be wetted, almost saturated with water, before removal to prevent asbestos releases.
Washing does not prevent asbestos from going airborne because the fibers will likely go to the air once dried.
Personal protective equipment (PPE)
Proper PPE
MTPP PPE
MTPP PPE
DAO 2003-03 also requires breathing apparatus and personal protective equipment (PPE) such as gloves and clothing/overall to workers. The EMB (Environmental Management Bureau) Regional Office of the DENR inspects and verifies the existence and purchase of such equipment and PPEs.
The MTPP PPE pictures above show workers with face masks not specified for this type of asbestos removal work. The worker in the center picture is collecting and packaging asbestos in a blue bag in an unenclosed area.
Proper packing materials and labeling
The CCO (Chemical Control Order) for Asbestos (DAO 2000-02), requires visible signs on packaging for asbestos.
Proper packing requires double-bagging of asbestos in special waste bags with labels. Waste bags must meet thickness requirement to avoid being ripped. DAO 2000-02, the CCO (Chemical Control Order) for Asbestos, specifies “heavy duty polyethylene bags approximately 0.2mm thick” to ensure “no fiber release will occur”.
The labels serve as warning to workers and people who may come in contact with the packed material during storage, transport and disposal of the wastes. EMB also must inspect and verify these supplies and label requirements under DAO 2003-03.
MTPP waste bags
Ripped waste bags clearly do not comply with the required thickness. Asbestos fibers escape into the air in this situation at the Manila Thermal Power Plant, further endangering workers and the people in the community. Labels on the waste bags are also absent. There are no barriers and warning signs around the storage area.
Not just ones’ responsibility
Gagasan Steel had to meet certain requirements before PSALM turned over the facility. Gagasan Steel was then given six months, subject to extension, to dismantle the plant building and equipment and clean up the site based on existing environmental laws and regulations. Our source said asbestos removal started in April 2009.
PSALM is obligated to ensure compliance with laws in its premises even after getting the payment from the sale of its assets.
EMB-DENR is mandated to ensure that asbestos removal follows existing rules and regulations. EMB was seen inspecting the site more than once. It appears that those inspections were not enough because asbestos removal has not stopped even with those glaring violations.
Other government agencies cannot disregard these blatant violations of asbestos rules and regulations: the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) for safe working conditions at the workplace and the City of Manila for safety of workers and the community in its jurisdiction.
Gagasan Steel and its sub-contractor may have directly put workers, their families and the public at risk of contracting incurable or hard to cure asbestos-related diseases.
More workers at risk
The Manila Thermal Power Plant may have exposed more workers to asbestos during its active years until the National Power Corporation (NAPOCOR) decommissioned it. Those workers and their families are now candidates for asbestos related diseases.
Asbestos diseases have a latency period of 10 to 40 years, meaning a worker may start to get sick 10 to 40 years after first exposure to asbestos. Here lie other problems. Where are those workers now? The workers should be tracked down for appropriate medical examinations. Some workers might have contracted asbestos diseases but diagnosed as other diseases.
Early detection and proper diagnosis are a concern because workers may not even know about their asbestos exposure. In addition, not all doctors are capable to diagnose asbestos diseases, and there is no central registry of workers exposed to asbestos for easier reference.
The same may happen to the demolition and asbestos removal workers at the MTPP, and other workers due to exposure to manufacturing and handling asbestos.
The Ban Asbestos Bill filed by TUCP Partylist Representative Raymond Democrito Mendoza, in addition to earlier bills filed in the Senate and in Congress, will address this. The bill proposes to build a central registry of all workers exposed to asbestos, including past exposures. The registry contains information about the company, occupation, form of asbestos, level and duration of exposure.
The immediate concern is the safe asbestos removal at the MTTP because it poses serious threats to workers, their families and the public. The effects are long term. But are unsafe working conditions and disregard of environmental laws part of the privatization of NAPOCOR/PSALM assets?
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The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP), Associated Labor Unions (ALU) and Building and Woodworkers International (BWI) are working towards asbestos ban and improvement of standards related to asbestos and their effective enforcement, as well as the elimination of asbestos-related diseases and the protection of workers and the public from asbestos hazards in houses, buildings, workplaces and materials.
For contact:
Dominador Tuvera
Asbestos Campaign Officer
Tel. 922 2575; Cel. 0927 8095221
Email: dtuvera@gmail.com
Rafael Mapalo
TUCP Education/Youth Director
Tel. 433 2208; Cel. 0928 5047052
Email: mapalo_rafael@pldtdsl.net
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