Bantay PCBs team visits the Non-Com POPs Facility

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

PCB generators in Mindanao told to ecologically deal with their wastes

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

RESOLUTION TO SUPPORT THE ESTABLISHMENT OF BANTAY PCBS

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

5. Enjoin the local government units to:

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

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

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

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

6. Enjoin PCB-users/generators to:

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

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

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

"Bantay PCBs" launched

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

Environmentalists Vow to Monitor Illegal Recycling and Disposal of PCBs

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

-end-

Reference:

PCBs Elimination Network (PEN):

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

8th PSC

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

"Bantay PCBs" visit Non-Com POPs Facility site

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

Bantay PCBs (PCBs Watch)

Watch out for the launch of


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

Dr. Mohamed Eisa's Dec 2010 Mission

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

(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).

Getting ready toward a PCB-free Philippines.

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

“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

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

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

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’

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.)

The PCBs in our lives, by Joe Torres

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

“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.