Tuesday, October 13, 2009
PHOTO RELEASE
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
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.
(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.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
PHOTO RELEASE
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)
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Brgy Alion, Mariveles, Bataan goes for PCBs-free Philippines
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.
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Philippine NGOs’ Statement of Support for the Non-Combustion POPs Project (Non-Com POPs Project)
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
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
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
PRESS RELEASE: NGOs vow to back project to ecologically eliminate PCBs
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.”
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.”
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