Wednesday, August 27, 2008 Lepanto probed for polluting rivers By Ace Alegre
MANKAYAN, Benguet -- The Lepanto Consolidated Mining Company is facing a government probe for allegedly polluting rivers along Mankayan town in Benguet, Cervantes town in Ilocos Sur and all the way to the Abra River in Abra province, one of the five biggest rivers in the country.
Though plainly dismissed by Lepanto environment manager Roland Reyes who claimed they have not polluted any river, government engineer Alex Luis of the Environment and Management Bureau (EMB) of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) confirmed that results of tests by the EMB are being awaited by the Pollution Adjudication Board (PAB).
The tests last June were to reconfirm initial tests made in April, which initially indicted Lepanto to have allegedly been polluting these rivers as the lead content of its tailings dam 5A had reportedly exceeded normal amounts.
Luis said the PAB earlier ordered the EMB to reconfirm its April tests, thus last June the agency conducted another lead content analysis of the tailings dam 5A of the mining firm.
The April test earlier showed dam 5A exceeding the normal lead disposal. Such findings led to the elevation of the findings to the PAB.
The EMB is the agency providing PAB with evidence needed in the prosecution of a mining firm.
Luis explained after an initial sampling from a company which shows a failing mark, it goes through a technical conference where remedies are recommended.
Compliance is strictly monitored after, and for 90 days, where there are no observed changes, the issue is brought to the PAB where fines may be imposed or a cease-and-desist order may be given.
Luis however said the results of the June sampling have not been released. Lepanto faced another pollution issue in 2004 when the PAB penalized the firm for failing the effluent standards required on rivers. But the firm was pardoned the same year and was made to pay only a minimal fee.
In 1989, the firm was also imposed a major fine by the PAB for water pollution.
Downstream effect
In three separate scientific studies documenting the effects of Lepanto's operations along the Abra River presented at the Saint Louis University (SLU) in August 2005, it also found the same findings of alleged river pollution.
Engineer Josephine Dulay, officer-in-charge (OIC) of the SLU chemical engineering laboratory, who did water quality monitoring in almost 20 sampling sites from Mankayan, Benguet, down to the mouth of the Abra River in Vigan and Santa, Ilocos Sur found acidic discharges at an outlet at the back of Lepanto's carbon-in-pulp mill and these allegedly came from the underground tunnels.
Extreme, elevated amounts of suspended solids -- indicating a high chemical content -- were also found by Dulay at the mill outlet.
The concentration of cyanide, which is the primary chemical used by Lepanto in gold processing, was found to be elevated from the mill outlet all the way down to the Baguyos Bridge or the border between Benguet and Ilocos Sur.
The amount of chromium, lead and mercury, were also found to be elevated at some sampling points, she also added.
The samples were taken in October 2004 and February 2005.
Professors Jocelyn Rafanan and Aldwin Almo of the biology department of the University of the Philippines (UP)-Baguio determined the effects of water samples from the Abra River on the root growth of the native onion or Allium fistuolosum.
Onion root growth was inhibited by water samples taken from the Lepanto mill outlet and the Baguyos bridge. This was attributed to the high cyanide content and low dissolved oxygen documented in both sites.
Dr. Ana Marie Leung of SLU's Department of Preventive and Community Medicine also previously reported significant elevated health symptoms among residents of Paalaban -- a community just behind Lepanto's Mill -- who were exposed to mine drainage.
In her final report, blood samples of Paalaban residents were compared with a control group where it showed Paalaban residents' blood had higher levels of cyanide, copper and lead.
The 2005 Abra river studies sounded the alarm about the deleterious effects of Lepanto's mining on the health and environment of surrounding communities, but Lepanto simply shrugged the studies off and tagged these as propaganda against them by groups opposed to large-scale mining.
