Bantay PCBs

Bantay PCBs team visits the Non-Com POPs Facility

2011-08-24T21:42:00.000-07:00

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

2011-04-28T04:12:00.000-07:00

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

2011-03-27T20:40:00.000-07:00

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

2011-03-19T07:52:00.000-07:00

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

2011-03-18T16:24:00.000-07:00

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

2011-03-02T01:29:00.000-08:00

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

2011-02-23T19:03:00.000-08:00

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)

2011-02-16T23:04:00.000-08:00

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

2011-01-26T16:34:00.000-08:00

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.

Dr. Mohamed Eisa's Dec 2010 Mission

2010-12-08T19:49:00.000-08:00

Chief of the UNIDO's Stockholm Convention and Chemicals Management Unit, Dr. Mohamed Eisa (7th from left), together with representatives from UNIDO, DENR-EMB, PNOC-AFC, IPM Construction, and the NGOs, during a mission to the Non-Com POPs Facility site in Bataan on 3 December 2010. In an interview, Dr. Eisa congratulates the Philippines for its commitment to the Non-Com POPs Project, for the safe, ecological,non-burn destruction of the country's PCB stockpiles toward the attainment of a PCB-free Philippines.

Non-Com POPs AVP team with Technology experts

2010-12-08T16:49:00.000-08:00

(From left) Blair Sim of Kinectrics', Engr. Ed Lagman of IPM, UNIDO Technology Consultant Dr. Luciano Gonzales, and Kinectrics' Derek Sim pose for a photo shoot with the Audio-Visual Production Team working on the video documentary of the Non-Com POPs Project for the safe, ecological, non-burn destruction of the country's stockpiles of the persistent organic pollutants (POPs) polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs).

Technology experts inspect Non-Com POPs Facility

2010-12-08T16:40:00.000-08:00

Technology experts Blair Sims of Kinectrics and UNIDO Consultant Dr. Luciano Gonzales inspect the Non-Com POPs Facility in this photo taken 8 December 2010. The experts are here in the country to give a 4-month training to the facility's personnel to ensure the safe, efficient destruction of the persistent organic pollutants (POPs) polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs).

Getting ready toward a PCB-free Philippines.

2010-10-28T22:02:00.001-07:00

Getting ready toward a PCB-free Philippines. Representatives from various stakeholders pose for a photo shoot just before they set off for the 4-day environmental sampling, which began on 26 October, to determine the present condition of the environment in and around PNOC-Alternative Fuels Corporation (PAFC) Industrial Park in Mariveles, Bataan, the site for the non-combustion facility for the safe and ecological destruction of the country's stockpiles of the persistent organic pollutants (POPs) polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)and PCB-contaminated wastes. Photo shows representatives from the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, DENR-Environmental Management Bureau, PAFC, Provincial Government of Bataan, PAFC Multi-partite Monitoring Team, PAFC locators, EcoWaste Coalition, and local NGOs and people’s organizations during the baseline environmental sampling to determine contaminants in the surrounding soil, water, living marine organisms, and air.

Working together for a PCBs-free Philippines

2010-08-25T20:07:00.001-07:00

“Working together for a PCBs-free Philippines”. More groups, this time from both the public and private sectors involved in waste and sanitation issues in Cebu joined the EcoWaste Coalition in its all-out support to the efforts to eliminate the persistent organic pollutants (POPs) polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in the Philippines. The country targets to be PCB-free by 2014 through the United Nations-backed endeavor called the Non-Com POPs Project. In this photo, taken during a workshop for the informal waste sectors (IWS), are representatives from the EcoWaste Coalition, Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives, BAN Toxics, Freedom from Debt Coalition-Cebu, Cebu City Health Department, and various other organizations and groups from the IWS. (Photo by Anne Larracas)

Cebu groups back project to safely eliminate PCBs

2010-08-21T17:20:00.000-07:00

Cebu non-government organizations (NGOs) and other civil society groups have thrown their support behind a collaborative venture to manage the country’s stockpiles of polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) wastes in an environmentally-sound manner.

PCBs, which belong to the so-called “dirty dozen” POPs (persistent organic pollutants), are oily liquids used widely as dielectric fluids in old electrical transformers and capacitors. Because of their adverse health and environmental effects, countries, including the Philippines, are taking steps to phase out and eliminate the use of PCBs.

At a workshop held yesterday in the University of Cebu on “precautionary principle,” some 30 participants representing 19 Cebu-based groups expressed their support for the initiative that is fittingly named as the “Non-Com POPs Project” for applying a non-combustion technology to get rid of PCBs.

With support from the Global Environment Facility and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, a non-combustion facility will soon commence operations in the province of Bataan to process PCB wastes, including PCB-contaminated equipment and materials.

“We are thrilled by this expression of support from Cebu that we hope will translate into increased public awareness on PCBs and vigilance against any improper storage, ‘recycling’ and disposal, which can result to toxic exposure and harm,” said Rey Palacio, project staff, EcoWaste Coalition.

Citing information from the “Code of Practice on the Management of PCBs” published by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources – Environmental Management Bureau (DENR-EMB), the EcoWaste Coalition warned that PCBs, recognized as a suspected human carcinogen, are “toxic, bioaccumulative and persistent, thus posing risks to health and the environment.”

“Informed NGOs and other organized groups are in the best position to disseminate information locally and to alert the DENR-EMB regional office of activities that can expose the people and the ecosystems to PCBs,” he said.

The statement signed by the groups listed how the Philippines will benefit from the “Non-Com POPs Project," such as in:

1. Fulfilling the people’s constitutional rights to health and to a balanced and healthful ecology;

2. Abiding by the DENR phase out target for PCBs by 2014 as stated in the Chemical Control Order for PCBs;

3. Building national capacity to manage PCBs through a non-combustion approach in line with the incineration ban under the Clean Air Act.

4. Complying with our obligations as party to the Stockholm Convention on POPs; and

5. Setting a good example for the environmentally-sound management of PCBs that developing countries can learn from and replicate.

Acknowledging the necessity of “working together to realize a toxics-free future,” the groups committed to “educate the public about PCBs and the project, and participate in efforts to ensure the safety of our ecosystems and our people, especially our children, women, industrial workers, waste handlers, and informal recyclers, against exposure to PCBs and other harmful chemicals.”

P-Noy urged to unveil environmental plans in upcoming SONA

2010-07-19T20:05:00.000-07:00

MANILA, July 19 (PNA) -- With barely a week before the chief executive
addresses the joint session of the 15th Congress, an environmental
network prodded President Benigno Simeon "Noynoy" to use the occasion
to unwrap a package of solutions to the country’s environmental woes.

The EcoWaste Coalition, a network of over 100 groups aiming for zero
waste and chemical safety goals, expressed its hope that President
Aquino's first State of the Nation Address (SONA) will give due
prominence to protect the environment from waste and toxic pollution.

“The SONA provides P-Noy with a superb venue to announce and draw
citizens’ support for environmental policies and measures that will
clean up our communities, while promoting an ecological way of life,
mitigating climate impacts, spawning green jobs and inspiring local
self-reliance,” said Roy Alvarez, president, EcoWaste Coalition.

“We hope to hear P-Noy declaring an ambitious waste diversion target,
which is attainable if all the stakeholders, including the people,
government, industry, civil society, formal and informal waste sector,
will put their acts together and advance an innovative people-centered
zero waste program,” he said.

Such program should seek to 1) reduce the volume and toxicity of
discards, 2) promote intensive reusing, recycling and composting, 3)
recognize the role of informal waste sector in resource recovery, and
4) ensure the environmentally-sound management of hazardous waste.

For her part, Dr. Leah Primitiva Samaco-Paquiz, Secretary of the
EcoWaste Coalition, underscored the need for President Aquino to
respond to major chemical challenges facing the Filipino families and
communities.

“The upcoming SONA, we hope, will demonstrate government’s
steadfastness to safeguard the public health and the environment from
toxic chemicals such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), lead,
mercury, cyanide and phthalates, to name a few,” she said.

“We’ll be elated if P-Noy will make policy pronouncements in support
of global and local efforts to curb toxic pollution, including the
non-combustion treatment of PCBs, the elimination of lead in paint and
the implementation of various mercury control measures,” she added.

“Our people will be listening intently on how P-Noy plans to fix our
waste and toxic problems and we hope we won’t be disappointed,” she
said.

The EcoWaste Coalition had crafted what they called the “Citizens’
Agenda for Zero Waste and Chemical Safety,” which was submitted to
P-Noy last June 25.

One of the key proposals of the group is for P-Noy to pursue a
national chemical safety policy framework and action plan in line with
the Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM).

Chemical safety, according to the EcoWaste Coalition, is integral to
improving public health and the environment, eradicating disease and
poverty, and achieving sustainable development for all. (PNA)
V3/pr/mec

One step forward for PCBs-free Philippines 2014

2010-06-17T22:16:00.000-07:00

Dr. Mohamed Eisa of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO)-Vienna and Director Atty. Juan Miguel Cuna of the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) head the multi-stakeholder team that visited on 17 June the ongoing construction of the Non-Com POPs facility in Mariveles, Bataan. The facility is the cornerstone of the project to safely and ecologically eliminate the Philippines' stockpiles of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) through non-combustion technology. Comprising the visiting team are representatives from UNIDO, EMB, PNOC Alternative Fuels Corporation (PAFC), NGOs, and IPM Construction.

For P-Noy, ‘Citizens Agenda for Zero Waste’

2010-06-17T21:24:00.000-07:00

Environment & You
by Manny Calonzo
Tuesday, 15 June 2010 18:59
http://www.journal.com.ph/index.php/opinion/11764-for-p-noy-citizens-agenda-for-zero-waste.html

FOR the first 100 days (June 30 to October 8) of President-elect
Benigno C. Aquino III, an environmental coalition has put forward an
ambitious “Citizens Agenda for Zero Waste and Chemical Safety.”

Some 100 participants from Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao approved
several action proposals that seek to advance President-elect Noynoy’s
“Social Contract with the Filipino People,” particularly in the health
and environmental arena.

Speaking at a conference held on May 31 at the Occupational Safety and
Health Center in Quezon City, Dr. Jaime Galvez Tan, Noynoy’s health
policy adviser, reiterated Aquino’s commitment to protecting and
advancing public health and environment as embodied in the “Social
Contract.”

“As the people’s President, Noynoy, in my view, will warmly welcome
your proposals that will help the government in defining its
priorities in terms of tangible policies and programs to adequately
meet the citizens’ needs for a clean, healthy and safe environment.
Nasa tamang panahon tayo para makatulong sa ating bansa,” said Dr.
Tan.

“Noynoy can help in reversing the persistent garbage disposal crisis
by directing the entire government machinery to step up the
implementation of R.A. 9003 and ensuring fund allotments for zero
waste resource management and enforcement activities,” said Eileen
Sison, NGO representative to the National Solid Waste Management
Commission (NSWMC).

R.A. 9003 or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act, the first law
signed in 2001 by outgoing President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, has not
been fully enforced as evidenced by the continued operation of some
1,234 open and controlled dumpsites and the ever growing national
waste generation that, according to government estimates, will reach
13.67 million tons per year by 2010.

The groups asked President-elect Noynoy to demonstrate the new
leader’s resolve to put an end to our perennial garbage woes and lead
the nation to the path of Zero Waste, by presiding over one meeting of
the NSWMC, an inter-agency body under the Office of the President that
oversees the implementation of R.A. 9003, with all the department
secretaries in full attendance.

Noynoy, the groups said, should mobilize all government departments to
enforce R.A. 9003 within their respective jurisdictions and promote
the use of recycled, reusable and recyclable materials.

The EcoWaste Coalition would like to see Noynoy using the President’s
Social Fund to assist local government units in the closure and
rehabilitation of dumpsites, and jump start the implementation of the
“National Framework Plan for the Informal Waste Sector in Solid Waste
Management.”

Zero Waste advocates urged Noynoy to launch and lead a nationwide
campaign against littering, the most ignored environmental offense,
that is turning our country into one of the dirtiest in Asia.

Integrating chemical safety into the country’s program for sustainable
development, the coalition pointed out, is one concrete strategy that
will surely lighten the health, economic and financial burdens of poor
families that are aggravated by their exposure to toxic chemicals.

In the field of chemical safety, the EcoWaste Coalition urged Noynoy
to initiate -- during his first 100 days in office -- a
multistakeholder, timebound process that will adopt a national
chemical safety policy framework and action plan in line with the
Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM).

The EcoWaste Coalition requested the incoming President to throw his
all-out support to eliminate the country’s stockpile of
polychlorinated biphenyls through a pioneering UN-assisted
non-combustion treatment facility that will soon commence operations
in Bataan.

Chemical safety campaigners also sought the issuance of executive
orders that will eliminate lead in paints, declare schools
mercury-free, ensure environmentally-sound management of lamp waste
with mercury, ban the aerial spraying of agrochemicals, and implement
the country’s “Chemical Accident Prevention and Preparedness Framework
and Plan.”

Indeed harmful chemicals affect the most vulnerable sectors that look
up to Noynoy for policies and measures that will protect them from
health-damaging exposure to environmental pollutants.

(Manny C. Calonzo is co-coordinator of the Global Alliance for
Incinerator Alternatives and immediate past president of the EcoWaste
Coalition.)

2010-02-28T20:42:00.000-08:00

Representatives from NGOs, academe, and other sectors in Bataan pose with the theme slogan "Working together for a PCBs-free Philippines" banner in this photo taken on 11 February 2010 after a seminar of the same theme.

Chemical Safety Advocates Laud Global Effort to Eliminate PCBs

2010-02-21T21:49:00.000-08:00

Quezon City, Philippines/Bali, Indonesia. Civil society groups promoting chemical safety welcomed the launch today of a global mechanism that will help the Philippines and other countries address a highly toxic industrial chemical pollutant called PCBs or polychlorinated biphenyls.

The EcoWaste Coalition, Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives and the International POPs Elimination Network lauded the launch of the PCBs Elimination Network (PEN) at the start of the simultaneous extraordinary meetings of the Conferences of Parties to the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions in Bali, Indonesia.

“The launch of PEN will complement and bolster our ongoing effort in the Philippines to safely manage and eliminate our own stockpiles of PCB oils and contaminated equipment such as electric transformers and capacitors,” said Manny Calonzo of the EcoWaste Coalition and the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives.

“The current public-private partnership to establish a closed-loop non-combustion facility, with support from the United Nations, to destroy the country’s stockpiles will be our best contribution to the global movement to purge the planet of PCBs,” he added.

Data from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources show that the Philippines has 6,879 tonnes of PCB containing equipment and wastes comprising about 2,400 tonnes of PCBs oil. The global estimate for PCBs is 5 million tonnes.

“The formation of PEN should assist developing countries and countries with economies in transition who lack financial and technical resources to identify, contain and destroy or irreversibly transform
PCB wastes both in closed uses such as transformers and in open applications like paints and sealants,” said Alan Watson, IPEN representative to PEN and chair of PEN’s disposal working group.

PEN is a collaborative arrangement that seeks to promote the environmentally sound management (ESM) of oils and equipment containing or contaminated with PCBs in line with the goals and requirements of the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs).

PEN will facilitate information exchange on the ESM of PCBs, promote research, technical assistance and technology transfer, foster networking and cooperation, raise awareness on successful ESM activities and establish annual awards for contributions to the ESM of PCBs.

According to the UN Environment Program, developing countries and countries with economies in transition suffer from the lack of capacities, poor inventories, limited resources and inaccessible
information to ensure ESM of their PCBs.

For more information, please log on to:

http://chm.pops.int/Programmes/PCBs/PCBsEliminationClubPEC/tabid/438/language/fr-CH/Default.aspx

Una sa ASEAN, “PCBs-free” na Pinas

2010-02-21T21:46:00.000-08:00

Nangunguna na ang Pilipinas sa mga bansang kasapi sa ASEAN sa pagsugpo sa mapanganib na lasong kemikal na polychlorinated biphenyls o PCBs, gamit ang teknolohiyang subok na ligtas at makakalikasan.

Ito ang binigyang-diin ng Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) ng Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Philippine National Oil Company – Alternative Fuels Corporation (PAFC), United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), at mga NGOs na sama-samang nagtutulong-tulong upang marating ng bansa ang pagiging PCBs-free ng mas maaga sa itinakda ng Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs).

“Inumpisahan na natin ngayon lamang linggong ito ang konstruksyon ng pasilidad na gagamitin upang wasakin ang mga imbak na PCB sa bansa, gamit ang pamamaraang hindi nagsusunog at nagtatapon,” pagmamalaking sinabi ni Retired Rear Admiral Alfredo Abueg, Jr., Park Manager ng PAFC kung saan kasalukuyang itinatayo ang pasilidad.

“Ang Pilipinas marahil ay maituturing na ngayong siyang nagtatakda ng bilis tungo sa pag-abot sa pambansa at pandaigdigang obligasyon nito na bigyang proteksyon ang kanyang mamamayan at kapaligiran mula sa mga banta ng PCBs,” ayon kay Rey Palacio ng EcoWaste Coalition. “Maaari nating matupad ang ating obligasyon nang higit na maaga kaysa maraming mga bansa kung magiging seryoso tayo sa pagtalima sa Chemical Control Order for PCBs,” dagdag pa niya.

Ang CCO for PCBs na inisyu ng DENR ay nag-aatas ng wastong pangangasiwa tungo sa lubusang pag-aalis at pagpapatigil sa paggamit o pag-iimbak ng PCBs sa bansa pagsapit ng 2014, higit na maaga kaysa itinakda ng Stockholm Convention. Kadalasang ginagamit pa rin ang PCBs bilang dielectric fluid sa mga electrical transformer at capacitor.

Kaugnay naman ng teknolohiyang gagamitin upang wasakin ang mga PCBs, ipinagmalaki ni Engr. Edwin Navaluna ng EMB, na “hindi ito katulad ng pangwasak sa PCBs na ginagamit sa ibang bansa, kung saan sinusunog nila ang mga PCBs at kontaminadong materyal.” Si Navaluna ang Tagapag-ugnay ng proyektong ito na tinatawag na Non-Combustion of POPs o “Non-Com POPs Project”.

“Ang paggamit ng isang mahusay na teknolohiyang hindi nagsusunog upang tugunan ang mga imbak na PCBs sa bansa ay alinsunod sa mga layunin at hinihingi ng Clean Air Act, Stockholm Convention at ng Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management, upang bigyang proteksyon ang mga mamamayan at ekosistema mula sa panganib ng mga lasong kemikal,” pagbibigay-diin ni Manny Calonzo ng Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA), isang grupong internasyunal na kumikilos kontra incinerators.

Maigting na tinututulan ng EcoWaste Coalition, GAIA, at iba pang kasamahan nilang mga NGOs at Civil Society Organizations ang nakagawiang pamamaraan ng paggamit ng incinerator upang wasakin ang mga PCBs, sapagkat higit pang matinding panganib sa kalusugan ng mamamayan at ng kapaligiran ang idinudulot nito, tulad ng pagbubuga ng mas mapanganib pang kemikal na dioxin.
Ang Non-Com POPs Project, sa suporta ng Global Environment Facility (GEF) at ng UNIDO ay pinangangasiwaan ng DENR, samantalang ang PAFC naman ang siyang mamamahala sa operasyon ng non-combustion facility na kasalukuyang itinatayo sa Industrial Park nito sa Mariveles, Bataan.

Ang EcoWaste Coalition, GAIA, Greenpeace Southeast Asia, BAN Toxics, Health Care Without Harm, Mother Earth Foundation at marami pang mga grupong makakalikasan sa ilalim ng EcoWaste Coalition ay ang mga grupong nagsusulong ng pampublikong interes kaugnay ng proyekto.

The PCBs in our lives, by Joe Torres

2010-02-16T21:36:00.000-08:00

The PCBs in our lives
By Joe Torres
UP CLOSE
Remate Tonight, 17 Pebrero 2010
About 12 years ago, we wrote about the continuing threats brought about by PCBs or polychlorinated biphenyls, despite the supposed decision of the government to phase it out.
Today, PCBs continue to threaten us and our environment.
PCBs are light or dark yellow oily mixtures, typically used as insulating materials in transformers and capacitors and in heat transfer fluids and lubricants.
While the Philippines is not a PCB manufacturer, the EcoWaste Coalition said the country has considerable stocks of PCBs due to importation of electrical transformers through the years.
Based on government inventory, we have some 6,879 tons of PCB-contaminated equipment and wastes comprising about 2,400 tons of PCB oils.
PCBs can be found in some electrical utilities and cooperatives, transformer servicing facilities, old industrial plants and commercial buildings, military camps and bases and hospitals.
Other equipment where PCBs can be found are old fluorescent ballasts, liquid-filled circuit breakers, and voltage regulators, among others.
Exposure to PCBs due to inhalation, skin absorption and the intake of PCB-contaminated food can disturb and damage the skin, liver and gastrointestinal tract as well as the nervous and immune systems.
Experts have warned that health problems brought about by exposure to PCBs include adverse reproductive, developmental and endocrine effects, liver problem and chloracne, with the latter two being the most common signs of exposure to PCBs.
Three US studies even show that PCBs alter brain development and produce neurobehavioral problems in children. The chemicals are also suspected to be cancer-causing.
This week, the Philippines is set to become the first country in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to eliminate its stockpiles of persistent organic pollutants, including PCBs.
Stakeholders from the government, industry and the civil society noted the steady progress of the landmark United Nations-supported initiative on PCBs called the “Non-Com POPs Project.”
The Philippines has demonstrated “the best available technology and best environmental practice for the destruction of PCB toward the greening of industries and the pursuit of sustainable industrial development,” a United Nations representative reported last week.
Civil society groups welcome the “collaborative effort” between the government and the private sector. But, of course, much has to be done, especially in the area of implementation.
The PCB issue should not only be a concern of the government, the business sector and environmentalist groups like the EcoWaste Coalition. It should also be a concern of all of us, especially those engaged in businesses like junkshops and those working in dumpsites.
Junkshop workers and people around it can be exposed to PCBs through inhalation, skin contact with PCBs or contaminated materials, and by unknowingly consuming contaminated water or food products.
While the government and advocates are celebrating the milestones in their campaign against PCBs, we hope that the issue will cascade all the way down to those threatened by these pollutants.

Philippines: to become the First PCB-Free ASEAN Nation

2010-02-14T19:24:00.001-08:00

“Philippines: First PCBs-free ASEAN nation!”

This is the message that resounded during the two seminars and forums held in Balanga, Bataan and attended by local government officials, representatives from the NGOs, the academe, and other agencies and organizations in Bataan on the 11th and 12th of the month in view of the steady progress of the government project to ecologically and safely deal with the country’s stockpiles of the persistent organic pollutants (POPs) called polychlorinated biphenyls or PCBs, commonly found in electrical transformers and capacitors.

The seminars were graced by authorities from the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Philippine National Oil Company – Alternative Fuels Corporation (PAFC), United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), and representatives from EcoWaste Coalition who teamed up to push forward a PCBs-free Philippines even years earlier than targeted in the Senate-ratified Stockholm Convention on POPs.

“This month saw a big leap in our accomplishment of the set milestones for the project in that we have finally started construction of the non-combustion facility to be employed in the safe, closed-system, and non-burn elimination of PCBs,” explained Retired Rear Admiral Alfredo Abueg, Jr., Park Manager of PAFC, the entity to manage the operation of the non-combustion facility for the project.

“The Chemical Control Order for PCBs which the DENR issued in March 2004 aimed at the ultimate phase out of the concerned chemicals by 2014,” said DENR-EMB Director, Atty. Juan Miguel T. Cuna. “We hope that everyone would cooperate, specifically the PCB possessors, who should be ensuring that their stockpiles get into the inventory list for proper management and control toward total destruction using our very own safe and ecological non-combustion facility,” he added.

The EcoWaste Coalition and other environmental health groups promote the environmentally-sound management of PCBs in a manner that will prevent the release of more toxic chemical compounds such as dioxins and furans.

"Our country's effort to expedite the elimination of PCB-contaminated equipment and wastes using a non-incineration technology is a huge boost to the global movement to rid the planet of POPs. This will
surely help in advancing human and ecological health amid growing concern over toxic chemicals in our bodies and the ecosystems," said Manny Calonzo of the EcoWaste Coalition and the Global Alliance for
Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA).

UNIDO Representative Dr. Suresh Raj, who gave a warm opening message on the second seminar day, expressed gratitude to all the project partners for helping out in the demonstration of “the best available technology and best environmental practice for the destruction of PCB… [toward] the greening of industries… and pursuing sustainable industrial development.”

The Non-Com POPs Project, through the support of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and UNIDO is being coordinated by the DENR. PAFC, on the other hand, is the operating entity and thus in charge of the management of the non-combustion facility, which is being set up inside their Industrial Park in Mariveles, Bataan.

The EcoWaste Coalition, GAIA, Greenpeace Southeast Asia, Health Care Without Harm, BAN Toxics, Mother Earth Foundation, together with many other chemical safety advocacy and people’s interest organizations and groups under the EcoWaste Coalition uphold the public interest and ensure the public’s participation in the project processes.

Ecological approach to toxic protection

2009-11-24T23:19:00.000-08:00

By Manny Calonzo
Environment & You
Journal Online
November 25, 2009, Wednesday

A broadly-supported initiative that seeks to eliminate the country’s stockpiles of polychlorinated biphenyls or PCBs is steadily being implemented to protect public health and the environment from toxic harm.

An advisory from the Department of Health warns that exposure to PCBs due to inhalation, skin absorption and the intake of PCB-contaminated food can disturb and damage the skin, liver and gastrointestinal tract as well as the nervous and immune systems.

PCBs belong to a group of chemical substances known as POPs or persistent organic pollutants that pose real threat to human health and the local and global ecosystems. The Stockholm Convention, of which the Philippines is a party now seeks the elimination of 21 POPs, including PCBs, as against the original “dirty dozen.”

By way of background, PCBs are light or dark yellow oily mixtures, typically used as insulating materials in transformers and capacitors and in heat transfer fluids and lubricants.

While the Philippines is not a PCB manufacturer, the country has considerable stocks of PCBs due to importation of electrical transformers through the years. According to preliminary government inventory, we have some 6,879 tonnes of PCB-contaminated equipment and wastes comprising about 2,400 tonnes of PCB oils.

We can find them in some electrical utilities and cooperatives, transformer servicing facilities, old industrial plants and commercial buildings, military camps and bases and hospitals.

In line with our country’s obligations under the POPs treaty, the government has developed a National Implementation Plan (NIP) with active support and participation from various stakeholders, including civil society.

One of the key goals of the NIP is to “achieve an effective and environmentally-sound strategy to manage the total elimination and destruction of PCB-containing products, equipment and wastes.”

Even before the NIP was completed in 2006, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) had already issued in 2004 a Chemical Control Order for PCBs, which prohibits the manufacture, importation, sale, transfer or distribution of PCBs and sets 2014 as the deadline for the phase-out of the use or storage for reuse of all PCB oils and PCB-contaminated equipment, articles, packaging materials and wastes.

With the Environmental Management Bureau at the helm, the government has embarked on a truly innovative project that will help PCB owners and possessors comply with the NIP and the CCO in an ecological and socially responsible manner.

Dubbed as the “Non Com POPs Project,” the United Nations-assisted project will see the establishment of a proven and closed-loop non-combustion facility in Bataan that will eliminate the PCBs without causing the release of byproduct POPs and other toxic residues.

The facility will receive and process PCBs from domestic sources and abide by the incineration ban under the Clean Air Act and the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act.

The project has earned the support of Bishop Socrates Villegas (former head of the Diocese of Balanga), Sen. Jamby Madrigal who chairs the Senate environment committee and a host of political, community and civil society leaders.

If successfully carried out, the project will help the Philippines achieve its 2014 target and inspire developing countries in the safe and environmentally-sound management of their own stockpiles of PCBs.

While the project is underway, some 50 public health and environmental groups led by the EcoWaste Coalition, Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives and Greenpeace Southeast Asia have requested the DENR to complete the inventory and monitoring of the national stockpiles of PCBs to ensure that they are duly accounted for and safely stored.

Stringent monitoring of the stockpiled PCBs is deemed very important to prevent illegal recycling and disposal of PCBs that could only lead to toxic pollution and harm.

(Manny C. Calonzo is co-coordinator of the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives and president of the EcoWaste Coalition).

Link: http://www.journal.com.ph/index.php?issue=2009-11-25&sec=14&aid=107933

EcoWaste Coalition Launches “Alertoxic Day” for Disaster Preparedness and Prevention: Green group warns against chemical pollution- Video - GMANews.TV

2009-10-13T20:49:00.001-07:00

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PHOTO RELEASE

2009-10-13T02:02:00.000-07:00

ALERTOXIC: To avert potential chemical accidents and disasters, environmental health and safety advocates, led by green superhero called the PCB Eliminator, launch the “Toxic Awareness and Alertness Day” in Payatas junk shops to caution informal recyclers on the grave hazards of recycling electrical transformers and capacitors containing polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs).

PRESS RELEASE

2009-10-13T02:00:00.000-07:00

EcoWaste Coalition Launches “Alertoxic Day” for Disaster Preparedness and Prevention
(Green group warns against chemical pollution from recycling toxic PCBs)

13 October 2009, Quezon City. As Filipinos come to terms with the disaster wrought by tropical storms Ondoy and Pepeng, an environmental coalition has put forward the need for increased mass awareness on toxic chemicals as a key strategy for preventing and mitigating accidents and disasters.

The EcoWaste Coalition today launched the “Toxic Awareness and Alertness Day,” or “Alertoxic Day” for short, as a monthly initiative that intends to raise public awareness and precaution on priority “chemicals of concern” to avert chemical contamination and disaster.

The term “chemicals of concern” refers to chemical substances that present a known or suspected danger to human and ecological health, and have been targeted for global action due to their hazards such as persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and toxic metals such as arsenic, cadmium, lead and mercury.

“With the monthly ‘Alertoxic Day,’ we hope to inform the public about the health and environmental consequences of being exposed to these top chemicals of concern and how to avoid and reduce injurious exposures. By sharing information and knowledge, we hope to ward off potential accidents and disasters involving highly toxic chemicals,” said Manny Calonzo, President, EcoWaste Coalition.

The group’s “Alertoxic Day” kicked off with an awareness and alertness campaign on polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), specifically targeting the informal recycling sector such as junk shop proprietors and workers.

PCBs belong to the expanding list of highly toxic POPs, currently numbering at 21, that the international community, including the Philippines, has agreed to restrict and ultimately eliminate under the Stockholm Convention on POPs because they pose significant threats to
human health and the environment.

Donned in yellow shirts bearing “Working together for a PCBs-free Philippines”, EcoWaste Coalition activists led by their newest green superhero called the “PCB Eliminator” roamed around Barangay Payatas, one of the major recycling hubs in Metro Manila.

“Our team jumped from one junk shop to another, giving informational materials about PCBs and showing photos of what PCB equipment look like. We also used a loud speaker to inform community members of the hazards associated with recycling PCBs,” explained Rey Palacio, project staff of the EcoWaste Coalition.

“We chose to target junk shops amid reports of indiscriminate recycling of PCB-contaminated equipment such as electrical transformers and capacitors in some junk shops that could endanger the health of waste workers and contaminate their surroundings with
pollutants,” he added.

Other equipment where PCBs could be found are old fluorescent ballasts, liquid-filled circuit breakers, and voltage regulators, among others.
“We caution the recycling sector, particularly the junk shops and waste pickers, from handling PCB-containing equipment and waste oil as this can expose them to health-threatening and environmentally-harmful substances,” said Engr. Edwin Navaluna of the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB).

“We should also point out that recycling PCBs goes against the Chemical Control Order on PCBs, and erring parties can receive notice of violation,” Navaluna added.

The CCO for PCBs follows the Stockholm Convention, which requires wastes containing POPs to be handled, collected, transported and stored in an environmentally-sound manner. The Convention, which the Senate ratified in 2004, requires that the POPs content be destroyed, prohibiting recovery, recycling, reclamation, direct reuse or alternative uses of POPs.

According to the EcoWaste Coalition, junk shop workers and people in the vicinity could get exposed to PCBs through inhalation, skin contact with PCBs or contaminated materials, and by unknowingly consuming contaminated water or food products.

Health problems associated with exposure to PCBs include adverse reproductive, developmental and endocrine effects, liver problem and chloracne, with the latter two being the most common signs of exposure to PCBs. Three US studies even show that PCBs alter brain development and produce neurobehavioral problems in children. The chemicals are
also suspected to be cancer-causing.
To safely eliminate the country’s stockpiles of PCBs, the government in cooperation with the public and private sectors and the United Nations has embarked on a project that will set up a non-combustion facility to safely and ecologically deal with the toxic materials.

“It is only after undergoing approved decontamination procedures that the recyclable by-products, such as the metals from transformers and capacitors, could be safely handled and recycled. Otherwise, the non-treated materials are health and environmental hazards,” the
EcoWaste Coalition warned.

PHOTO RELEASE

2009-09-08T22:00:00.000-07:00

PCB Eliminator, EcoWaste Coalition's newest green superhero, pushing for the safe, non-burn, ecological elimination of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)in the country is role played by a Bataan fisher folk and hailed by locals in Mariveles as their declaration of support to the United Nations-backed Non-Com POPs Project of the DENR-Environmental Management Bureau, which aims to ecologically eliminate PCBs in the country. The project facility is to be established inside the industrial park of PNOC-Alternative Fuels Corporation in Mariveles, Bataan. Photo taken during the recently held forum on the project in the area.(Photo by Rey Palacio)

Brgy Alion, Mariveles, Bataan goes for PCBs-free Philippines

2009-08-09T23:31:00.000-07:00

Brgy. Alion officials together with NGOs and Philippine National Oil Company-Alternative Fuels Corporation (PNOC-AFC) representatives, hand in hand in "Working together for a PCBs-free Philippines". Photo taken during the Non-Com POPs seminar & forum for the barangay held on 1 August 2009. The seminar ended with everyone adopting the resolutions pertaining to the concerns of the community folks on the Non-Com POPs Project and other related concerns. Brgy. Alion is one of the barangays in the vicinity of PNOC-AFC's Industrial Park, where the Non-Com facility is to be put up.

Philippine NGOs’ Statement of Support for the Non-Combustion POPs Project (Non-Com POPs Project)

2009-07-09T23:40:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends,

FOR A TOXICS-FREE PHILIPPINES

We would like to invite everyone to sign and endorse the following
STATEMENT OF SUPPORT for the Non-Combustion POPs Project that seeks to
eliminate the country's stockpiles of the highly toxic polychlorinated
biphenyls or PCBs.

We have presented the statement for endorsement at the EcoWaste
Coalition-organized "Working Together for a PCBs-free Philippines" seminar
held today, 30 June 2009, from 9am to 12nn at Max's Restaurant,
Quezon Memorial Circle, QC. The statement has been adopted and endorsed by the assembly.

Additional signatures / endorsements are still welcome. We'll appreciate it very much if you can sign on today. Kindly send your
reply to reykp.nopcb@gmail.com or to ecowastecoalition@yahoo.com and we'll add your name and/or organization.

Marami pong salamat at mabuhay!

For a PCBs-free Philippines,

The EcoWaste Coalition
______

We, Filipino citizens’ and advocates of public health, chemical safety and environmental justice, express our full support, commitment, unity and action to contribute to the nation’s efforts toward the phase out and eventual elimination of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in the Philippines through the Non-Combustion POPs Project (or the Non-Com POPs Project).

We support this UN-backed public-private partnership, which includes the civil society, because it will help the Philippines:

1. Fulfill the Constitutionally-guaranteed rights of the Filipino people to health and to a balanced and healthful ecology;

2. Abide by the Chemical Control Order on PCBs issued by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) that directs the phase out of PCBs by 2014;

3. Build its capacity to manage the stockpiles of PCB oils and PCB-contaminated equipment and materials through a robust, closed-loop non-combustion technology in line with the incineration ban under the Clean Air Act and the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act.

4. Carry out its obligations under the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) requiring governments “to prohibit the production, import, export and use of all PCBs,” and implement the “Action Plan Addressing PCBs” in the National Implementation Plan for the said treaty.

5. Set a good example for developing countries in the safe and environmentally-sound management of POPs stockpiles that avoids the unintentional release of dioxins and furans, which the newly-formed PCBs Elimination Network (PEN) can learn from and replicate.

As we express our support for the Non-Com POPs Project, we call on the government, particularly the DENR, to pursue the inventory and monitoring of all our stockpiles of PCBs, ensuring that PCBs in electric utility plants, transformer servicing centers, manufacturing sites and old commercial buildings are duly accounted for and safely stored for subsequent decontamination in the non-combustion facility.

We likewise call on the Bureau of Customs to remain vigilant against the probable entry of PCB transformers disguised as “recyclables” or “donations” for rural electrification as other countries get rid of their own stockpiles of PCBs.

Acknowledging the necessity of actively working together to realize a toxics-free future, we shall inform and educate our membership and the general public about PCBs and the Non-Com POPs Project, and participate in relevant efforts that will ensure the safety of our ecosystems and our people, especially our children, women, industrial workers, waste handlers, and informal recyclers, against exposure from PCBs and other harmful chemicals.

Signed and adopted:

1. Aida Martija, AKKAPKA - Pandacan
2. Angelina P. Galang, Ph.D., Green Convergence for Safe Food, Healthy Enviornment and Sustainable Economy / Enviornmental Studies Institute, Miriam College
3. Aurea Macalindong, Buklod Kalikasan
4. Beau Baconguis, Greenpeace Southeast Asia
5. Catalina Jocson, Krusada sa Kalikasn
6. Conrado Esemple, Columban Missionaries-Justice, Peace & Integrity of Creation
7. Elsie B. Retanan, Brgy. Yakal MRF, Silang, Cavite
8. Elsie Brandes de Veyra, Concerned Citizens Against Pollution
9. Eric Jamon, Ecology Desk of Diocese of Kalookan
10. Esther Pacheco, COCAP-ES (Citizens Organization Concerned with Advocating Philippine Environmental Sustainability)
11. Evangeline T. Palacio, Sining Yapak
12. Eileen Sison, Institute for the Development of Education and Ecological Alternatives, Inc. (IDEAS)
13. Fe C. Manapat, Woman Health, Philippines
14. Florita Dumagan, Hugalna Albur
15. George Dadivas, Sanib Lakas ng mga Aktibong may Taya sa Inang Kalikasan (SALIKA)
16. Helen Mendoza, Philippine Network on Climate Change
17. Ines Fernandez, Arugaan/Save the Babies Coalition
18. Isagani R. Serrano, Philippine Rural Reconstruction Movement (PRRM)
19. Jane Continente, Lakay Kalikasan
20. Jennifer Pangilinan, Mascomthea
21. Jessie Ruines, Children's Helper Project / CGC
22. Joel Catapang, Concerned citizen
23. Joey Papa, Bangon Kalikasan
24. Josua Mata, Alliance of Progressive Labor (APL)
25. Kinaiyahan Foundation
26. Kristopher Peralta, EARTH-UST
27. Leah Primitiva G. Samaco-Paquiz, Ang Nars
28. Manny C. Calonzo, Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives
29. Marie Marciano, Mother Earth Foundation
30. Martin Francisco, Sagip Sierra Madre Environmental Society, Inc. (SSMESI)
31. Noli Abinales, Buklod Tao, Inc.
32. Ochie Tolentino, Cavite Green Coalition
33. Ofelia Panganiban, Zero Waste Recycling Movement of the Philippines Foundation
34. Richard Gutierrez, BAN Toxics!
35. Riedo Panaligan, EcoWaste Coalition
36. Rodel Gabac, Advocates for Environmental and Social Justice
37. Romeo Hidalgo, November 17 Movement
38. Ronald Aries Pirante, Diocese of Imus, Cavite
39. Ronnel Lim, Health Care Without Harm
40. Sylvia Mesina, Concerned citizen
41. Tanya Conlu, Concerned citizen
42. Tessa Oliva, Miriam P.E.A.C.E.
43. Vicente L. Guarin, Diocese of Kalookan
44. Victoria Segovia, Partnership for Clean Air

PRESS RELEASE: NGOs vow to back project to ecologically eliminate PCBs

2009-06-30T23:37:00.000-07:00

NGOs and individual advocates of public health, chemical safety and environmental justice expressed support for a groundbreaking project to safely and ecologically eliminate the country’s stockpiles of the persistent organic pollutants (POPs) polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) minus combustion.

In a statement presented during a forum themed “Working Together for a PCBs-free Philippines” at the conclusion of the June environment month, some fifty individuals representing more than thirty NGOs initially expressed their support for the project, which is called the “Non-Com POPs Project” for it’s non-employment of combustion in the safe destruction of PCBs and other POPs.

During the forum, Environmental Management Bureau’s (EMB) Ms. Angie Brabante, national focal point for the Stockholm Convention on POPs and Engr. Edwin Navaluna, national coordinator for the “Non-Com POPs Project,” gave straightforward discussions about PCBs, their hazards, and the need to immediately deal with them in an ecological manner through the United Nations backed project.

Navaluna announced further that “construction of the non-combustion treatment facility at the Philippine National Oil Company – Alternative Fuels Corporation (PNOC-AFC) industrial park in Mariveles, Bataan should be underway this August.”

Ms. Helen Cervantes of PNOC-AFC increased further the NGOs confidence about the project with her talk about the company’s sincere commitment and efforts in addressing community concerns about the project.

According to the NGOs’ statement, the Philippines would benefit greatly from the project health- and environment-wise as this would help the country:

1. Fulfill the Constitutionally-guaranteed rights of the Filipino people to health and to a balanced and healthful ecology;

2. Abide by the Chemical Control Order on PCBs issued by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) that directs the phase out of PCBs by 2014;

3. Build its capacity to manage the stockpiles of PCB oils and PCB-contaminated equipment and materials through a robust, closed-loop non-combustion technology in line with the incineration ban under the Clean Air Act and the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act.

4. Carry out its obligations under the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) requiring governments “to prohibit the production, import, export and use of all PCBs,” and implement the “Action Plan Addressing PCBs” in the National Implementation Plan for the said treaty.

5. Set a good example for developing countries in the safe and environmentally-sound management of POPs stockpiles that avoids the unintentional release of dioxins and furans, which the newly-formed PCBs Elimination Network (PEN) can learn from and replicate.

In concluding their statement of support for the project, the NGOs called on EMB to “pursue the inventory and monitoring of all [of the country’s] stockpiles of PCBs” and ensure that all such chemicals are duly accounted for and safely managed for subsequent treatment at the project facility in Bataan.

The NGOs also appealed to the “Bureau of Customs to remain vigilant against the probable entry of PCB transformers disguised as ‘recyclables’ or ‘donations’ for rural electrification as other countries get rid of their own stockpiles of PCBs.”

Finally, in acknowledgement of the necessity of “working together to realize a toxics-free future,” the NGOs committed to “educate the public about PCBs and the project, and participate in efforts to ensure the safety of our ecosystems and our people, especially our children, women, industrial workers, waste handlers, and informal recyclers, against exposure from PCBs and other harmful chemicals.”

The lively forum also saw the launched of the EcoWaste Coalition’s latest superhero – The PCB Eliminator – to help in raising public awareness about PCBs and the “Non Com POPs Project.”

PHOTO RELEASE: New Superhero out to eliminate PCBs

2009-06-30T01:13:00.000-07:00

“The PCB Eliminator”, EcoWaste Coalition’s newest addition to its league of green heroes, with a mission to champion the safe and non-burn elimination of the toxic pollutants polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), is joined by chemical safety and environmental justice advocates in a bid to eliminate the country’s PCBs stockpiles, as shown in this photo taken during the “Working Together for a PCBs-free Philippines” forum on 30 June in Quezon City. (Photos by Gigie Cruz)

PRESS RELEASE: New superhero for chemical safety bared, cheered

2009-06-29T15:38:00.000-07:00

A new chemical safety superhero, clad in yellow and black and carrying a shield that bears the slogan “Dump Not! Burn Not!” has joined toxic prevention advocates in a bid to rid the country’s stockpiles of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs).

At a forum held in Quezon City to conclude the June environment month, the masked hero who calls himself “The PCB Eliminator” vowed to protect the Filipino people from PCBs, a class of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) commonly used as dielectric fluids in electrical transformers, capacitors and coolants.

“The ‘PCB Eliminator’ is the latest addition to our own league of green heroes with a special mission of protecting our people and the ecosystems from harm caused by exposure to these harmful substances,” said Rey Palacio of EcoWaste Coalition.

“The ‘PCB Eliminator’ will enlist public and private support for the non-incineration treatment of PCBs in the country that will ensure public and environmental health and safety,” he added.

The new green crusader joins the other heroes of the waste and pollution watchdog, namely “Boy Bayong,” an advocate against single use plastic bags, and “Super WA” (for “Walang Aksaya”) a champion for Zero Waste.

To the delight of forum participants, Environmental Management Bureau’s (EMB) Engr. Edwin Navaluna, the National Project Coordinator for the Non-Combustion POPs Project, announced that “the construction of the treatment facility employing a robust technology for the safe and non-burn elimination of PCBs and PCB-contaminated equipment, should be underway this August.”

Navaluna, who gave a brief talk about the project before the more than fifty attendees of the forum themed Working Together for a PCBs-free Philippines said that “the project fits very well with the policy objectives of the Chemical Control Order (CCO) for PCBs.”

The CCO for PCBs was issued by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to reduce and eliminate the use of PCBs, and regulate their transport, treatment and disposal to protect the human health and environment.

In support of the project, the participating NGOs adopted a statement expressing “full support, commitment, unity and action to contribute to the nation’s efforts toward the phase out and total elimination of PCBs by the year 2014 as targeted in the CCO for PCBs.”

“The pioneering Non-Com POPs Project will demonstrate the efficacy of environmentally-sound and safe non-burn approach for managing PCBs, and will surely contribute to both local and global push to eliminate PCBs and advance chemical safety,” Manny Calonzo of the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA) said.

“Its successful implementation has the potential of setting a precedent among developing countries in the sound management of POPs involving all stakeholders, including public interest groups,” he stated.

PCBs, which are targeted for elimination in the country years ahead of the Stockholm Convention goal, belong to so-called “dirty dozen” POPs that includes pesticides, industrial chemicals and unintentional byproducts of industrial and combustion processes,

With an estimated quantity of five million tons of PCBs oil and contaminated equipment worldwide, PCBs are reportedly among those that are widely distributed globally.

Preliminary inventories undertaken by the EMB yield some 6,879 tons of PCB containing equipment and wastes, comprising about 2,400 tons of PCBs oil. These are mostly found in electrical utilities and cooperatives, industrial establishments and manufacturing plants, servicing facilities, military camps and hospitals.

PRESS RELEASE: RP Urged to Join PCBs Elimination Network

2009-05-20T18:13:00.000-07:00

21 May 2009, Quezon City. A waste and pollution watchdog urged the government to seek membership in a new initiative that aims to enhance international cooperation to safely eradicate polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs).

In a statement issued coinciding with the 8th anniversary today of the signing of the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs), the EcoWaste Coalition lauded the recent decision of the 4th Conference of Parties (COP4) to establish the PCBs Elimination Network (PEN).

Department of Environment and Natural Resources Usec. Demetrio Ignacio and Angelita Brabante represented the Philippines at the historic conference, which also saw nine chemicals being added to the UN POPs blacklist.

“We welcome the increased attention to reduce the serious health and environmental threats from PCBs by ensuring their environmentally sound management, especially in countries that lack financial and technological resources to deal with their toxic stockpiles,” said Rey Palacio, project staff of the EcoWaste Coalition.

“We urge the government and other stakeholders from the public and private sectors to get involved in the PEN and benefit from the unique information exchange, networking and capacity building opportunities,” he said.

“RP’s membership in PEN will hopefully open new avenues for accessing essential resources to support the ongoing multi-stakeholders’ partnership to phase out PCBs in the country using a non-combustion technology,” Palacio added.

The PEN seeks members from governments, intergovernmental organizations, nongovernmental organizations, donor agencies, owners of PCBs, related service industries, and scientific and technical experts. The Geneva-based United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) will act as its preliminary Secretariat.

PCBs, one of the so-called “dirty dozen” POPs, are reportedly the most distributed toxic chemicals listed in the Stockholm Convention in use globally, with an estimated quantity of five million tonnes of PCB oil and contaminated equipment worldwide.

Based on preliminary inventories, the Philippines has 6,879 tonnes of PCB containing equipment and wastes, comprising about 2,400 tonnes of PCBs oil, mostly found in electrical utilities and cooperatives, industrial establishments and manufacturing plants, servicing facilities, military camps and hospitals.

Signed in 2001, the Stockholm Convention is an international agreement to address global chemical pollution. Ratified by the Senate in 2004, it seeks to protect human health and the environment from POPs.

“The signing of the Stockholm Convention is a triumph for environmental health and underscores the primacy of public welfare over the narrow economic interest of the chemical industry,” commented Von Hernandez, Executive Director of Greenpeace Southeast Asia, a member of the EcoWaste Coalition.

“Public vigilance is still required however to ensure that these persistent poisons are really taken out of commerce,” he emphasized.

PRESS RELEASE: RP’s breakthrough project on PCBs garners support

2009-05-08T00:48:00.001-07:00

8 May 2009, Quezon City. Marking May 9 to 15 as “Toxic Awareness and Action Week", environmental and chemical safety advocacy groups expressed support for a breakthrough multistakeholders initiative that will rid the country of some highly toxic industrial chemicals.

The Ban Toxics, EcoWaste Coalition, Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives, Greenpeace Southeast Asia, Health Care Without Harm and Mother Earth Foundation welcomed the United Nations-backed effort to safely address the country’s stockpiles of polychlorinated biphenyls or PCBs, a group of persistent organic pollutants (POPs), using a
non-combustion approach.

Dubbed as the “Non-Com POPs Project,” this will assist the Philippines in meeting the goals of the Chemical Control Order for PCBs issued by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) by ensuring the safe handling and environmentally sound storage and destruction of PCBs. The CCO sets a phase out target for PCBs by 2014.

The project will also comply with the requirements of the Stockholm Convention on the destruction of POPs that will not result to the formation and release of dioxins and furans to the air, water and soil.

“The ‘Non-Com POPs Project’ will help our nation in dealing with PCBs in a manner that will not cause any further toxic harm to our people and the ecosystems. We commend the public-private partnership that is working doubly hard to make this happen,” said Rey Palacio of the EcoWaste Coalition.

A general assembly in the host community in Barangay Batangas Dos, Mariveles, Bataan will take place on May 9 to assure the populace of the safety and ecological soundness of the project and to strengthen community ownership and participation in the pioneering project,

The “Non-Com POPs Project” has earlier elicited the support of Sen. Jamby Madrigal, Chair of the Senate Committee on the Environment, who said that “the non-combustion treatment of our stockpiled PCBs is a strategic milestone in our quest to rid our nation of toxic health and environmental contaminants.”

“Let a PCBs-free Philippines be our shared gift to all Filipino children and youth of this generation and next. I commend the project participants from the public and private sectors, particularly the NGOs promoting the chemical safety agenda,” she said in a statement.

The “Non-Com POPs Project” is funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF), with the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) as the implementing agency, the DENR – Environmental Management Bureau (DENR-EMB) as the national executing agency and the Philippine National Oil Company – Alternative Fuels Corporation (PAFC) as the operating entity.

The other project partners include Meralco, National Grid Corp. and the National Power Corp. from the private sector and the concerned non-government organizations from the public sector.

As the preparation for the “Non-Com POPs Project” goes in full swing, the public interest groups called on the government to continue with the effort to complete the national inventory of PCBs and ensure their safe management and ultimate destruction in the soon-to-be launched facility.

PCBs are thin, clear to pale-yellow liquids generally used as dielectric fluids in old electrical transformers and capacitors. They persist in the environment for very long time, enter the food chain and accumulate in human and animal tissues. Considered as possible carcinogen, PCBs, according to three new studies, alter brain development and produce
neurobehavioral problems in children, among other health problems associated with the chemicals.

PHOTO RELEASE

2009-04-21T18:04:00.000-07:00

The banner “Working together for a PCBs-free Philippines” describes best the multi-stakeholder project to eliminate polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), a toxic pollutant, in the country. Photo taken at a pre-Earth Day event includes representatives from Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Environmental Management Bureau, United Nations Industrial Development Organization, PNOC Alternative Fuels Corporation, EcoWaste Coalition, Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives, and the IPM Construction and Development Corp. (Photo by Rey K. Palacio)

Photo Release

2009-04-12T23:49:00.000-07:00

Mountaineers join the EcoWaste Coalition in campaigning to rid the country
of toxic PCBs or polychlorinated biphenyls while at the summit of the so-called
"Devil's Mountain" (Mt. Cristobal) in Quezon province last Good Friday.
PCBs are obsolete industrial chemicals commonly found in old electrical
transformers and capacitors. (Photo by Rey Palacio)

Press Release: Groups Push for Health and Environment Protection from Harmful Chemicals

2009-04-02T20:41:00.000-07:00

3 April 2009, Quezon City. Every year on April 7, the world celebrates World Health Day and marks the importance of health for a well lived and happy life.

In commemoration of the event, the EcoWaste Coalition, together with Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA), Greenpeace Southeast Asia, Health Care Without Harm, BAN Toxics, and Mother Earth Foundation, sound a loud call for a widespread public awareness campaign in the country about the highly toxic chemicals known as persistent organic pollutants (POPs).

The public health and environmental justice groups are particularly concerned about polychlorinated biphenyls or PCBs and how best to protect the general public and the environment from adverse chemical exposures to them.

A health advisory from the Department of Health (DOH) states that human exposure to PCBs, an industrial chemical used mainly as dielectric and heat exchange fluids, has been caused mostly from eating contaminated food and also from inhalation and skin absorption in work places. The DOH warns that the skin and liver are the major organs affected by PCBs, but the gastrointestinal tract, the immune system and the nervous system are also targets.

A draft Code of Practice on the Management of PCBs prepared by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) cites transformer repair, reconditioning and retrofilling facilities as major industry sector in the country that contributes to the spread of PCB contamination in the country. As of 2006, a partial inventory of PCBs in the Philippines yields some 6,879 tons of PCBs-containing equipment and wastes, comprising about 2,400 tons of PCBs oil.

“As we mark the World Health Day, we call on the government to complete the inventory of PCBs in the country, ensure that all stockpiles are rigorously stored and secured and prevent unsafe recycling or disposal that will expose workers and communities to toxic pollution. It will also be useful for the government to embark on a nationwide assessment of the levels and impacts of PCBs in humans and in the air, water and soil,” Rey Palacio of the EcoWaste Coalition said.

“We further call on all the stakeholders to support the United Nations-assisted project that aims to eliminate our stockpiles of PCBs by employing a safe, non-incineration technology in line with the Clean Air Act and our obligations to protect the public health and the environment from POPs,” added Manny Calonzo of the Global Alliance for Incinerator
Alternatives.

By the end of the year, the Philippines is expecting the treatment of the first batch of PCBs wastes and contaminated equipment at the country’s first and only non-combustion treatment facility for destroying PCBs with a destruction efficiency approaching 100%. The facility would not be employing combustion to prevent the creation of the more toxic dioxins and
furans and would be operating in closed system to prevent uncontrolled releases of chemicals of concern.

The following practical can- and must-dos have been compiled by EcoWaste from various sources, such as the DOH and the DENR, to keep the public informed about protecting themselves from PCBs’ harmful effects:

- Report illegal disposal of PCBs or contaminated wastes to proper authorities such as the DENR-Environmental Management Bureau (DENR-EMB).
- Unless you are trained, never handle PCBs and stay away from areas where the chemicals are handled.
- Wear full body protective clothing when working with PCBs.
- If you work with PCBs, always wash hands thoroughly before eating and before leaving the workplace.

- Do not eat, drink or smoke in areas where PCBs are handled.
- If skin contact occurred, wash the contaminated area with running water for 20-30 minutes.

- If you suspect that you have PCBs-contaminated equipment or materials at home or in the office, secure them in a sealed container until such time that they could be treated in a safe, non-combustion facility.

- Stay away from PCBs-contaminated sites.
- If you suspect you may have health problems associated with exposure to PCBs, seek help from a medical physician or call the Environmental and Occupational Health Office of the Department of Health at Tel No. 743-8301 loc. 2325-2327 or the UP-National Poisons Control and Information Service at Tel No.524-1078.

- Support the project on non-combustion technology for the destruction of PCBs in the Philippines.

- Call the EcoWaste Coalition at 441-1846 for more information.

- Tell these to others.

PCBs are clear, amber-colored, or dark oily liquids, which may have a faint smell like motor oil, while some smell like mothballs. They have been widely used in industry in many enclosed and open applications since they were first introduced in the 1930s.

Electric transformers manufactured before the 1990s likely contain PCBs. Other items that could contain PCBs are capacitors and hydraulic fluid and such common consumer items as fluorescent lights, transistor radios, microwave ovens, televisions, refrigerators, and various other electrical appliances, which were manufactured prior to the date.

PRESS RELEASE: Senator, NGOs Laud Effort to Eliminate Toxic Chemical with Non-Burn Technology

2009-03-18T18:31:00.000-07:00

15 March 2009, Quezon City. Public health and environmental justice groups and a staunch pro-environment lawmaker mark the 5th anniversary of a government policy that could make the Philippines potentially the first among the developing countries to eliminate highly toxic industrial chemicals called polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs).

Donning yellow shirts that say “Working Together for a PCBs-Free Philippines,” chemical safety advocates led by the EcoWaste Coalition put a “PCBs-free” sticker to mock electrical transformers to signal the nation’s commitment to clear the country of its stockpiles of PCBs using a non-incineration technology.

The initiative has elicited the support of Sen. Jamby Madrigal, Chair of the Senate Committee on the Environment, who said that “the non-combustion treatment of our stockpiled PCBs is a strategic milestone in our quest to rid our nation of toxic health and environmental contaminants.”

“Let a PCBs-free Philippines be our shared gift to all Filipino children and youth of this generation and next. I commend the project participants from the public and private sectors, particularly the NGOs promoting the chemical safety agenda,” she stated.”

“The Philippines may be setting the pace in what we may consider as a vital step towards fulfilling our national and international obligations to protect our people and the environment from the hazards of PCBs,” said Rey Palacio of the EcoWaste Coalition. “We’ll be complying with our commitments much earlier than the rest of the world, provided we proceed as targeted under the Chemical Control Order (CCO) for PCBs,” he added.

The CCO for PCBs issued by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), which took effect on March 19, 2004, requires the registration, labeling, safe handling, phase out and ban on the use or storage of PCBs in the country by 2014 or 11 years ahead of the global target.

Under the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs), governments have until 2025 to phase out PCBs-containing equipment such as transformers and capacitors. The Convention, which the Senate ratified in 2004, also gave governments another three years, or until 2028, to destroy the recovered PCBs.

Together with other public interest groups, the EcoWaste Coalition is supporting the implementation of the pioneering project that will help waste generators comply with the 2014 phase out target for PCBs by deploying in 2009 a safe, closed-loop, non-incineration technology for decontaminating PCBs-containing equipment and wastes.

“The adoption of a robust non-combustion technology to address our stockpiles of PCBs is consistent with the goals and requirements of the Clean Air Act, the Stockholm Convention and the Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management, which all seek to prevent toxic chemicals from harming our bodies and the ecosystems,” said Manny Calonzo
of the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives

The EcoWaste Coalition and GAIA urged the DENR to complete the inventory of PCBs in the country and to ensure that the stockpiles are placed under strict control while awaiting operation of the non-combustion facility to avoid unsafe recycling and disposal.

As of January 2006, inventories show that the country has 6,879 tons of PCBs-containing equipment and wastes, comprising about 2,400 tons of PCBs oil. Much of these PCBs came from the power industry, owing to the chemicals’ usefulness as dielectric fluids in transformers and capacitors.

Last year, the government of the Philippines, with the support of the public and private sectors, launched the non-combustion project that will ensure the safe handling, environmentally-sound storage and effective destruction of PCBs in the country instead of sending them for incineration abroad.

The technology to be deployed would not be employing combustion; would be operating in closed system to prevent uncontrolled releases of dioxins and other chemicals of concern; and would be capable of achieving total destruction efficiency that approaches100%.

The DENR is the lead government agency in charge of the project, which is supported by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO).

Corporate project partners include the Philippine National Oil Company - Alternative Fuels Corporation, as the operating entity for the non-combustion facility, and the Meralco, National Power Corporation, National Transmission Corporation and other power-related entities.

The EcoWaste Coalition, GAIA, Greenpeace Southeast Asia, BAN Toxics, Health Care Without Harm, and Mother Earth Foundation are among the public interest non-government organizations participating in the project.

Ecological Waste Coalition
Unit 320 Eagle Court Condominium,
26 Matalino Street, Quezon City
Phone: +63 2 9290376
Email: ecowastecoalition@yahoo.com
www.ecowastecoalition.org

PRESS RELEASE: UNIDO technology expert assures public of safe process to rid PCBs

2009-03-18T18:19:00.000-07:00

6 February 2009, Quezon City. A visiting technology expert assured the public of the environmental soundness of the technology to be used for the safe elimination of the country’s stockpiles of polychlorinated biphenyls or PCBs that are generated mostly by the power sector.

Dr. Luciano Gonzales, technical consultant of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), gave this assurance last Thursday, 5 February, at the Environmental Management Bureau (DENR-EMB) in Quezon City, during his presentation of the treatment system to be employed in the destruction of the country’s PCB wastes and PCB-contaminated equipment.

During the presentation and the ensuing discussions, representatives of public interest groups such as the EcoWaste Coalition, Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives and Health Care Without Harm raised various safety, health, and ecological concerns regarding the technology.

Asked if there were any incidence where a technical problem occurred in the system in its employment in other countries, Dr. Gonzales straightforwardly said “none”. He added that people welcomed the technology because the technology operator did “open-house, where people come and ask questions about the system and where they get answered openly and frankly. You have to disclose. There’s nothing to hide,” he said.

The technology, which destroys PCBs through dechlorination process by making the chemical react with sodium, meets two specific criteria in the technology selection process:

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 would be capable of achieving 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 assurance was made a week after the technology selection was formally announced by Dr. Mohamed Eisa of UNIDO, the implementing agency for the project, during the UNIDO Mission to the Philippines late this January.

“This is good news as finally, a safe, non-burn, ecological process of dealing with our country’s stockpiles of PCBs in compliance with our obligations under the Stockholm Convention and the Chemical Control Order (CCO) for PCBs is available,” says Rey Palacio of the EcoWaste Coalition, one of the groups committed to ensuring meaningful civil society involvement in the project.

The country aims to phase out the use and storage for reuse of PCBs by 2014. This is much earlier than the Stockholm Convention’s 2025 phase out target for the toxic pollutant which has been linked to various health problems, such as its being a probable carcinogen.

Ecological Waste Coalition
Unit 320 Eagle Court Condominium,
26 Matalino Street, Quezon City
Phone: +63 2 9290376
Email: ecowastecoalition@yahoo.com
www.ecowastecoalition.org

Welcome to the "PCBs-free Philippines" blogsite

2009-01-20T23:13:00.000-08:00

This site shall be dedicated to posting press materials, basically from the EcoWaste Coalition, related to the project on non-combustion approach to the destruction of stockpiles of Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs), a persistent organic pollutant, in the Philippines.