Bantay PCBs team visits the Non-Com POPs Facility

Bantay PCBs team comprising of NGO representatives from the Cavite Green Coalition (CGC), Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA), EcoWaste Coalition, and the Mindanao-based Interface Development Interventions (IDIS) visit the Non-Com POPs Facility in Bataan during a monitoring activity done by the team to assess the progress of the facility which at the time of the visit is already at the commissioning phase. (photo taken 16 August 2011)

PCB generators in Mindanao told to ecologically deal with their wastes

28 April 2011, Cagayan de Oro. In view of the Philippine project for the ecological elimination of the country’s stockpiles of the persistent organic pollutants (POPs) polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), a multi-stakeholder team led by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources – Environmental Management Bureau (DENR-EMB) told users and generators of PCBs in Mindanao to deal with their wastes ecologically.

In a seminar held this morning in Cagayan de Oro City, DENR-EMB and team told the more than 35 representatives of some 28 electric cooperatives and other generators of PCBs and PCB-contaminated equipment and wastes from Regions 9 to 13 to commit their stockpiles to the UN-assisted Non-Combustion destruction of POPs Project or simply the Non-Com POPs Project.

During the seminar, United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) Representative to the Philippines, Dr. Suresh Chandra Raj, challenged Mindanao to “be PCB-free and help push the country to attain this status very soon.”

According to DENR-EMB, the currently known PCB inventories as reported in the National Implementation Plan of the Stockholm Convention on POPs include 6,879 tons of PCB containing equipment and wastes.

“If all PCB stockpiles in Mindanao would be committed to the Project, a burdensome number would have been unloaded, providing us with a better view of the target PCB-free country,” says DENR-EMB’s Engr. Edwin Navaluna, Non-Com POPs Project Coordinator.

Chemical advocacy network EcoWaste Coalition also urged the seminar participants to “ensure the environmentally sound management of [their] PCBs as specified in the Chemical Control Order for PCBs by committing [their] PCB wastes to the Project.”

The DENR-issued CCO for PCBs strictly bans the unauthorized handling and improper management and disposal of these chemicals which can put the environment and people’s health at risk.

Adverse effects associated to PCB exposure include damage to the immune system, liver, skin, reproductive system, gastrointestinal tract and thyroid gland.

“Finally, we have a safe, non-burn process to ecologically deal with our country’s stockpiles of PCBs in compliance with our obligations under the Stockholm Convention and the CCO for PCBs,” Navaluna added.

The non-combustion technology, which shall be employed in the destruction of PCBs, destroys the chemicals through a sodium-based dechlorination process. It meets two specific criteria:

Firstly, the technology would operate in a system that is essentially closed. This is to ensure that uncontrolled releases of POPs and other substances of concern are avoided.

Secondly, the technology can achieve total destruction efficiencies (DEs) for POPs and other substances of concern that approach 100 percent. This conforms with the Stockholm Convention in terms of reducing “total releases” to all media with the goal of “their continuing minimization and where feasible ultimate elimination.”

The DENR is the lead government agency in charge of the Non-Com POPs Project, which is supported by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO). PNOC-Alternative Fuels Corporation is the operating entity for the Non-Com POPs Facility, which is housed inside their industrial park in Mariveles, Bataan.

The EcoWaste Coalition, Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives, Greenpeace Southeast Asia, Ban Toxics, Health Care Without Harm, and Mother Earth Foundation are among the public interest non-government organizations participating in support of the project. ###

RESOLUTION TO SUPPORT THE ESTABLISHMENT OF BANTAY PCBS

WHEREAS, PCBs, being a type of Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) and are commonly used in the past as dielectric fluid for electrical transformers and capacitors, and are also used in old fluorescent ballasts, liquid-filled circuit breakers, voltage regulators, and other industrial applications, and which may have even found its way into used-oil recycling in the country; are now being phased out in the country due to their characteristics which are as follows:
• They are toxic to humans and wildlife
• They resist degradation and remain in the environment for a very long time.
• They enter the food chain and accumulate in fatty tissues of animals and humans;

WHEREAS, studies have shown that PCBs can lead to adverse reproductive, developmental and endocrine effects, and that they are suspected to be cancer-causing in humans;

WHEREAS, the Philippines is undertaking a project called the Non-Com POPs Project, a United Nations-assisted undertaking to safely and ecologically eliminate the country’s stockpiles of PCBs and PCB-contaminated wastes and materials at the Non-Com POPs Facility in Mariveles, Bataan through non-combustion process;

WHEREAS, united action among all concerned stakeholders (i.e. government, private entities, civil society organizations, and individuals) is necessary to bring about a more effective monitoring of PCBs and PCB-contaminated materials and used-oil toward their safe management and non-burn destruction at the Non-Com POPs Facility;

WHEREAS, during the 9th General Assembly of the EcoWaste Coalition, it has been resolved on 28 January 2009 that the Coalition shall “support the effective participation of civil society in the [Non-Com POPs Project]... to eliminate the [country’s] stockpiles of PCBs and PCBs-contaminated equipment [through non-combustion process]”.

Now, therefore, be it resolved that the EcoWaste Coalition adopt and support the establishment of Bantay PCBs, to bring about the needed participation of various sectors toward attaining a united action to complement the government’s efforts for the safe and ecological management and destruction of PCBs and PCB contaminated wastes, used-oil, and materials in the Philippines; and to further encourage other sectors to adopt and support the Bantay PCBs action points, namely,

1. Organize awareness raising activities about PCBs and the Non-Com POPs Project;

2. Report illegal handling, use/reuse, and recycling of PCBs and/or PCB-contaminated materials and used oil to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources – Environmental Management Bureau (DENR-EMB);

3. Alert illegal PCB handlers that handling, recycling, reusing, or storing PCBs and PCB-contaminated materials and/or used oil are dangerous and are against the law.

4. Inform others about PCBs and the Non-Com POPs Project.

5. Enjoin the local government units to:

a. Pass ordinances toward the environmentally-sound management of all PCBs and PCB-contaminated materials in your locality, and in support of the Non-Com POPs Project.

b. Conduct regular monitoring of junkshops and other informal recyclers; transformer repair, reconditioning and retro-filling facilities; facilities dealing with used oil; and other suspected handlers of PCBs and PCB-contaminated materials and/or used oil to ensure that they comply with the law.

c. Ensure that all used oil from facilities dealing with used oil are PCB-free.

d. Require PCB-generators in your area to commit their PCB wastes to the Non-Com POPs Project for safe destruction.

6. Enjoin PCB-users/generators to:

a. Contact PNOC-AFC, the operator of the Non-Com POPs destruction facility, to avail of their services.

b. Ensure environmentally-sound management of their PCBs and PCB-contaminated materials as specified in the Code of Practice on the Management of PCBs and in the CCO for PCBs.

RESOLUTION DECLARED AND ADOPTED during the EcoWaste Coalition 11th General Assembly, 19 March 2011, in Quezon City.

"Bantay PCBs" launched

Environmentalists led by “PCB Eliminator” launch a campaign dubbed as "Bantay PCBs" to promote the environmentally-sound management of toxic oily liquids known as polycholorinated biphenyls (PCBs) that are commonly found in old electric transformers. (Photo taken 19 March 2011, during EcoWaste Coalition's 11th General Assembly)

Environmentalists Vow to Monitor Illegal Recycling and Disposal of PCBs

In a bid to ensure safe management of obsolete electric transformers’ oils known as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), more than 50 civil society groups today launch a national campaign to ensure that none of the toxic materials will be disposed of illegally and jeopardize public health and safety.

Hailed as “Bantay PCBs,” the campaign aims to raise public awareness on PCBs, monitor any illegal handling of PCBs for reuse, recycling or disposal, and promote the environmentally-sound management of PCBs.

“PCBs are toxic to humans and wildlife. This will explain the resolute efforts, locally and globally, to prevent their damaging dispersal into the environment,” said Roy Alvarez, President, EcoWaste Coalition

“Through ‘Bantay PCBs,’ we intend to nip in the bud the threat of PCB-containing oil, equipment and waste being handled recklessly to the detriment of public health and the environment,” he added.

Information from the UN-backed PCBs Elimination Network (PEN), of which the EcoWaste Coalition and the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives are members, says that PCBs are a class of synthetic organic chemicals used for a variety of industrial uses, mainly as dielectric fluids in capacitors and transformers.

Adverse effects associated to the exposure to PCBs, according to PEN, include damage to the immune system, liver, skin, reproductive system, gastrointestinal tract and thyroid gland.

The unauthorized handling of PCBs, which can put the workers’ health at risk, is explicity banned under the Chemical Control Order for PCBs issued by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).

To support entities in complying with the required elimination of their PCB stockpiles in a safe manner, the DENR in partnership with the private and public sectors is implementing a Non-Combustion POPs Project for PCBs (or the Non-Com POPs Project).

The project will see the operation of a non-incineration plant, in keeping with the incineration ban under the Clean Air Act, for destroying domestic stocks of PCBs, which are commonly found in power plants and industrial facilities.

The Non-Com POPs Project is managed by the DENR-Environmental Management Bureau with support from the Global Environment Facility and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization. The facility, which is currently undergoing construction in Mariveles, Bataan, will be operated by the PNOC Alternative Fuels Corp.

Also participating in the Non-Com POPs Project are environmental health and justice groups such as the EcoWaste Coalition, Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives, Greenpeace Southeast Asia, Ban Toxics, Health Care Without Harm, and Mother Earth Foundation.

-end-

Reference:

PCBs Elimination Network (PEN):

http://chm.pops.int/Programmes/PCBs/PCBs%20Elimination%20Network%20(PEN)/tabid/438/language/en-US/Default.aspx

8th PSC

Heads of and representatives from UNIDO-Vienna, UNIDO-Philippines, DENR-EMB, PNOC-AFC, EcoWaste Coalition, GAIA, IPM Construction, and DOH posed for a group picture after the 8th Project Steering Committee (PSC) meeting that discussed the Non-Com POPs Project's progress. Photo taken on 25 February 2011.

"Bantay PCBs" visit Non-Com POPs Facility site

Bantay PCBs from EcoWaste Coalition, Mother Earth Foundation, and SIYAP-Cavite Green Coalition paid the Non-Com POPs Facility construction site a visit right after a discussion with the Brgy. Batangas 2, Mariveles, Bataan council (photo above) on safety concerns pertaining to the soon-to-be operational facility's operation, participated in by representatives from DENR-EMB Central Office and PNOC-AFC. 22 February 2011

Bantay PCBs (PCBs Watch)

Watch out for the launch of


Bantay PCBs is an EcoWaste Coalition-organized NGO-initiated campaign to complement the Philippine government’s efforts in ensuring that all PCBs and PCB-contaminated wastes, materials, and used-oil are safely managed and destroyed at the Non-Com POPs Facility inside PNOC-Alternative Fuels Corporation (PNOC-AFC) Industrial Park in Mariveles, Bataan.

The Non-Com POPs Project: Answers to Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Non-Com POPs Project?
The Non-Com POPs Project is a United Nations-assisted project that aims to assist the Philippines in eliminating its stockpiles of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) known as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). The project will involve the deployment and operation of a commercially available, safe and proven non-combustion technology for managing PCBs.

What are POPs?
POPs are chemicals being targeted for global elimination under the Stockholm Convention to protect human health and the environment from their harmful impacts. The Senate of the Philippines ratified the treaty in 2004. Some of these POPs are pesticides, industrial chemicals and byproducts of combustion or industrial processes.

What are PCBs?
PCBs are a type of POPs commonly used in the past as dielectric fluid for electrical transformers and capacitors. They are also found in old fluorescent ballasts, liquid-filled circuit breakers and voltage regulators, and used in other industrial applications. PCBS are now being phased out due to their characteristics which are as follows:
• They resist degradation and remain in the environment for a very long time.
• They accumulate in fatty tissues.
PCBs, which are suspected human carcinogens, can lead to adverse reproductive, developmental and endocrine effects. The most common signs of exposure to PCBs are chloracne and elevation of liver enzymes.

Where will the PCBs that will be brought to the facility come from?
The PCBs will initially come from the electric power industry, large buildings, and industrial plants with a high demand for a stabilized flow of electricity.

How safe will it be to transport the PCBs and contaminated materials for destruction in the facility?
Transporting PCBs is a delicate job, hence, only PCB transporters registered with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) are allowed to transport PCBs. To prevent leakage and pollution, the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) has developed the “Code of Practice on the Management of PCBs” as a guidance document that trained transporters have to strictly follow. Prior to their transport, the materials are sealed and packed in compliance with international safety standards, and transported in accordance with the said Code to ensure the safety of the workers and the public. The vehicle to be used will have to pass the same stringent standards, and the driver and assisting personnel will undergo intensive training. .

What if an accident happens during transport?
Additional safety measures are prepared to avoid untoward harm should an accident occur. One example is the placement of wood shavings and other highly absorbent materials around the sealed and packed PCB-contaminated materials, to ensure that any leakage resulting from an accident is quickly absorbed and contained. Everything is then brought to the facility where only well-trained personnel will take care of their proper handling and treatment. To top it all, every transporter is required to prepare and implement a contingency and emergency response plan.

Where will the transported PCBs be stored and treated?
The PCBs will be transported to, stored and treated at the non-combustion facility located at the Philippine National Oil Company – Alternative Fuels Corporation (PNOC-AFC) petrochemical plant in Mariveles, Bataan. Under DENR Regulations, PCBs brought to the facility are required to be treated within six (6) months from the time that it was initially stored.
How safe is the process of destroying the PCBs?
The PCBs will undergo destruction using a non-combustion technology known as sodium-based technology, which involves dechlorination. This methodology for destroying PCBs is being used in Japan and has a total destruction efficiency approaching 100%.

How else is safety assured in the operation of the facility?
The facility will be operated in accordance with the safety procedures of the technology provider. It shall likewise observe compliance to environmental rules and regulations implemented by the DENR. The project shall also have its own monitoring and evaluation activities. On top of it, citizens of the host community, through selected sectoral groups, people’s organizations and non-government organizations will have active participation in the Multipartite Monitoring Team that will keep an eye on the facility’s operations and compliance with all standards and requirements.

Will it produce smoke and garbage?
Being a closed, non-incineration technology, the facility will not generate smoke nor other hazardous byproduct wastes. The decontaminated metal, paper and oil derived from the process of destroying PCBs may be recycled or reused.

Will it accept PCBs from other countries?
No. The entry of PCBs into the country is strictly prohibited under the Chemical Control Order for PCBs, Republic Act 6969 or the Toxic Substances, Hazardous and Nuclear Wastes Control Act, and also by the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal, an international agreement.

Where will the project funding come from?
The project will be funded mainly through a grant from the Global Environment Facility (GEF). The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), PNOC-AFC and other project partners from the private and public sectors will provide for the other requirements.

Who are the active participants in the project?
The Non-Com POPs Project is broadly supported by participating groups from the public and private sectors. Specifically, the project participants are:
• DENR-EMB, which has overall responsibility for the project management.
• PNOC-AFC, which will operate the facility.
• UNIDO, which is the implementing international agency.

The EcoWaste Coalition, Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives and Greenpeace Southeast Asia provide strong civil society support and participation in the project, together with Ban Toxics, Health Care Without Harm and Mother Earth Foundation. These groups work to safeguard the public interest in decision-making processes and to ensure informed people’s involvement in this pioneering project for human and ecological health.