PHOTO RELEASE: New Superhero out to eliminate PCBs

“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

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

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

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

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

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

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.