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Tuesday, November 29, 2005
Gold panning blamed on mercury pollution
By Ben Serrano
Caraga correspondent
BUTUAN CITY -- Uncontrolled dumping of high toxic waste materials from small-scale gold mining operations in the provinces of Compostela Valley, Davao, and Agusan might have already poisoned the Agusan Rivers.
These fears were raised by Agusan del Sur Provincial Board member Santiago B. Cane in a letter to the Departments of Health (DOH) and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, and Agusan del Sur Governor Eddie Plaza.
The same fears were also raised in the approved Agusan del Sur Provincial Board resolution addressed to Congress, DENR, Office of the President and the DOH to investigate mercury poisoning of Agusan River.
In his letter, Cane said, deep wells and reservoirs near the Agusan River where thousands of people living nearby use it as a source of drinking water over the years might have been contaminated with mercury.
He said this doesn't include the contamination of aqua marine resources like fish, crabs, and lobsters whether cultured or uncultured.
Cane said small scale and crude gold panning operations by persons and groups who used high toxic mercury have been ongoing since the late '80s in gold rush areas near Agusan River.
He added that the deterioration of Agusan River might have attributed to the continuing "gold rush" search of thousands of small-scale gold miners in mountain ranges of Compostela Valley province.
He said toxic mercury wastes were dumped in river arteries and creeks from mountains leading to Agusan River.
Pollution problem
Cane told Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro that he also elevated the alarming situation of Agusan River mercury poisoning to the Provincial Board Members' League of Caraga Region.
In response, the league formed a committee to look seriously into the matter electing Agusan del Sur Provincial Board Member Faustino Asis as Chairperson of the Committee of Ecology.
The committee is expected to render reports to the league after a three months investigation to see how far is the extent of damage done by mercury poisoning and to seek government assistance including congressional inquiry.
Cane asked the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources and Bureau of Mines and Geo-Sciences to investigate and take appropriate measures to stop mercury poisoning.
The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) laboratory findings based from water samples disclosed that Agusan River waters contained between 3 to 11 minute parts of mercury of every liter of Agusan River waters.
The maximum allowable mercury content is only 2-minute parts to every liter of water.
Dost said, the Agusan river mercury contamination already reached dangerous level of toxicity.
The agency said unreported illness caused by mercury poisoning were detected in the towns near Agusan River that stretches to at least four provinces, two of which are in Caraga region where more than one million people are residing.
Already fisher folks are complaining of the low catch of fresh water fishes at Agusan River due to pollution problem.
(November 29, 2005 issue)
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