Search still on for disposal site of 23 vintage bombs

Thursday, January 26, 2012

CEBU CITY – Authorities rejected on Wednesday a site in Carmen town where they planned to detonate a batch of vintage bombs, saying the place wasn’t safe enough.

Tests were also done to verify a claim that leaked chemicals from the bombs have contaminated part of the seawater near Cebu City’s South Road Properties (SRP).

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A property in Sitio Rocky Hills, Barangay Poente in Carmen town failed to pass an inspection by the military’s Central Command (CentCom) Wednesday.

CEBU. Representatives from the Central Command-Explosives and Ordnance Disposal unit, the Cebu City police force’s Swat team and the Cebu City mayor’s office check a pile of vintage bombs found on the former Kawit Island, now part of the South Road Properties. (Allan Cuizon)

The area is deep enough, but explosives shouldn’t be set off there because high-tension wires nearby might cause some power transformers to explode.

“We might cause more damage,” said a CentCom official who requested not to be named, after the inspection that Special Weapon and Tactics (Swat) unit and representatives from the Cebu City Government also joined.

Also, a poultry farm operates near the proposed disposal area and the site is near Carmen’s highway.

As that developed, a policeman’s feet were reportedly infected after he waded into the seawater where chemicals from one of the bombs had leaked.

Security

So far, 23 vintage bombs were dug up this week at the site of a resort that is being built.

Police Officer 2 Garlico Alvirastine’s feet turned yellowish, said Roger Yanoc of the Cebu City Bantay Dagat Commission (CCBDC).

The police officer, who is assigned at CCBDC, waded into the water to check the extent of the leak last Tuesday morning, said Yanoc.

Alvirastine is also Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama’s former close-in security officer.

Ranulfo Sebusa, CCBDC executive director, said Alvirastine was not rushed to the hospital because he was in stable condition.

Several fish were also found floating dead, said Yanoc. Construction workers found about a kilo of “gisaw” fish, and reportedly cooked and ate them.

Agapito Andalana, a construction worker, said while they were hauling big stones around 7 a.m. last Tuesday, they saw the dead fish.

Yanoc brought a dead fish to the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources for examination, but the government agency has no equipment that could confirm if a chemical killed the fish.

Initial reports said one of the bombs leaked picric acid—an odorless, yellow chemical compound used in military explosives—into the seawater.

Acid leak

The leak, according to Yanoc, made a portion of the sea turned red. He said personnel from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources also took a sample of the water.

According to a British Columbia Museums Association in Canada document, picric acid is dangerous when dry.

“Dry, solid picric acid is highly sensitive to shock, friction or heat, and may decompose explosively,” the document states.

To avoid hazards, some laboratories store the chemical in bottles under a layer of water.

According to the document, glass or plastic bottles are required, as picric acid can form metal picrate salts that are even more sensitive and hazardous than the acid form.

Lieutenant Colonel Christopher Tampus, the Centcom spokesperson, said the chemical is poisonous and can cause allergies to an exposed person.

Tampus said he encountered a member of the military’s Explosive and Ordnance Division who was hospitalized for two weeks, after the latter contacted picric acid.

No site

Early last Monday, workers from Dakay Construction and Development Corp, contractor of the beach resort at Kawit Island, unearthed the bombs by accident, using a backhoe.

The bombs were believed to date back to World War II.

Cebu City Police Office Director Melvin Ramon Buenafe assured the safety of the SRP site where the vintage explosives were dug up.

“I can’t still tell where we will dispose of the bombs since we will still have to survey the place. I prefer not to mention the places, so as not to alarm the residents,” explained Buenafe.

Buenafe also reminded people to be extra cautious at the site where the vintage bombs were excavated and to report to the authorities in case more bombs are found.

An ideal site for the detonation of bombs, CentCom said, is one that’s far and uninhabited. It should also be deep enough so the blast would be contained.

After the site inspection on Wednesday, the official from CentCom who declined to be named told Philip Zafra, chief of staff of Mayor Rama, to detonate the vintage bombs in Barangay Biasong in the town of Balamban instead.

Hand-carry

However, at least 30 people will be needed to hand-carry the bombs to the site, which is at least two kilometers away from the main road of Biasong.

“Di man kasaka ang mga sakyanan didto so lakawon gyud siya unya manual ang pag-transport sa bomba (The area can’t be reached by motor vehicles, so the crew will have to proceed on foot and carry the bombs),” he said.

The walk from the main road of Biasong to the proposed site will take at least one hour.

Asked if it would not be risky to hand-carry the vintage bombs, the official from CentCom said these would explode only if a fuse is installed.

Zafra, however, said the City also has reservations on disposing of the bombs in Biasong because it is too far and transportation would be too inconvenient.

Zafra said the City will tap the Field Training Police to hand-carry the bombs to the site.

But he also said the City is exploring the possibility of renting a helicopter from CentCom to move the vintage bombs to Biasong. (KAL/PDF/With JBT of Sun.Star Cebu)