TABUK CITY, Kalinga, Philippines – Mercury traces were found in three major rivers in this province, prompting the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) and the Mining and Geosciences Bureau to ask local officials to ban the use of the toxic substance by small-scale miners.
Water samples taken from the Chico, Pasil and Saltan rivers were found to have mercury levels beyond the allowable limit, said engineer Ricardo Dang-iw of the EMB.
The water samples gathered from five sampling points tested positive for mercury content ranging from .00287 to .1231 microgram per cubic meter, beyond the standard level of .002.
Traces of cadmium, copper, zinc and lead were also found in the water samples although “below the allowable level,” Dang-iw said.
Dang-iw blamed small-scale miners and the dumping of pharmaceutical waste for the presence of mercury in the three rivers.
Small-scale miners in Balbalan and Pasil were earlier warned not to use mercury, which is harmful to humans and the environment, and were urged to shift to non-hazardous processing procedures using carbon in pulp and carbon in leach.
Dang-iw said there is yet no confirmed case of mercury or cadmium poisoning in Kalinga, but these substances are extremely harmful. –Artemio Dumlao (The Philippine Star)
World Day for Safety and Health at Work
“Safety and health at work every day!”
Invoke Article 33 of the ILO constitution
against the military junta in Myanmar to carry out the 2021 ILO Commission of Inquiry recommendations against serious violations of Forced Labour and Freedom of Association protocols.
Accept National Unity Government
(NUG) of Myanmar.
Reject Military!
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Monthly Observances:
March – Women’s Role in History Month
April – Month of Planet Earth
Weekly Observances:
Last Week of March: Protection and Gender Fair Treatment of the Girl Child Week
Last Week of April – World Immunization Week
Daily Observances:
Mar 25 – International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transallantic Slave Trade
Mar 27– Earth Hour
Apr 21 – Civil Service Day
Apr 22 – World Earth Day
Apr 28 – World Day for Safety and Health at Work
