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Friday, September 15, 2006
Oil sheen keeps pouring in city's seas
By Lory Ann B. Bilbao
ILOILO City Crisis Management Office (ICCMO) Chief Joe Papa confirmed that oil sheen and bunker oil debris from Guimaras, were increasingly flowing in the city's seas and some have reached the shoreline.
From Sto. Niño Sur and Sto. Niño Norte in Arevalo District up to the coastal areas in the City Proper such as Baluarte-North of Guimaras Island, covering a total of 16 coastal barangays, oil sheen were found at around three to five inches in size in intervals.
But, the sheen just evaporates, said Papa quoting a Petron Corporation-consultant.
The ICCMO personnel and Papa observed the spread of the sheen Thursday and found that it evaporates at a high temperature.
Papa narrated that fumes coming from the oil sheen and debris were already observed in Sto. Niño Sur.
Papa said he has already alerted the village chiefs and urged them to inform their constituents to conduct precautionary measures per the advise of the Department of Health (DOH) when an area's waters become contaminated with oil.
Petron Corporation, Mayor Jerry P. Treñas and other concerned agencies were already informed, Papa said.
Very recently, Papa wrote Treñas expressing concern for the fisher folks here.
There are 267 registered fisher folks from six affected villages here, who have complained of losses in their sale of fish after oil sheen was found.
Safe process
Meanwhile, to ensure that bio remediation of the environment affected by the Solar I Oil spill will not cause another environmental problem in the future, the Bio Safety Sub-Committee of the Guimaras Task Force headed by DENR Regional Executive Director Julian D. Amador had lined-up protocols to be followed in dealing with bio-remediation products and technologies.
Early on, the sub-committee was created because of the recommendation from Dr. Rafael D. Guerrero III, Executive Director of the Philippine Council for Aquatic and Marine Research and Development (PCAMRD) to have a Science and Technology intervention in Guimaras after a series of discussions on the environmental situation after the oil spill.
Guerrero committed a P500,000 for the immediate use of University of the Philippines-Visayas to help in the repair of damage, improve the environment and inform the people of the real situation and condition as a result of the tragic oil spill.
The Task Force Guimaras immediately created the sub-committee on bio-safety that is tasked to formulate systems and procedures in evaluating products and technologies for remediation; evaluate and screen in accordance with the established protocols in the use of remediation products and technologies in the oil spill clean-up; and ensure that remediation products and technologies used are environment-friendly.
Amador said in order to effect this bio-remediation one has to be very careful in using micro-organisms as a cleaning agent. A thorough evaluation, assessment and test should be done first before application of any product or technology.
According to Amador, the Sub-Committee recommended the use of the Environmental Technology Verification Protocol (ETVP) used to verify or prove claims on the functional performance of a particular technology/product with regards to relevant parameters.
Amador explained that the ETVP requires the filling up of an application form, National Committee on Bio-Safety of the Philippines (NCBP) clearance, and Bureau of Industry (BPI) Import License.
A panel composed of scientists from the academe, private sector and other agencies will do the evaluation with confidentiality.
The track record of would-be panel members shall be highly considered and upon acceptance, these scientists shall sign a non-disclosure form that will include a declaration that the member has no conflict of interests among the proponents. This form will safeguard the product/technology proponents.
Upon submission of the duly accomplished forms and a payment of P8,500.00 fee, a rapid assessment will be conducted for two days. If the product is ineffective, no further testing shall be conducted.
If the product shows effective results, then they will be required to undergo more testing procedures. The tests conducted shall be documented and a report will be prepared on the details of the test conducted and the response of the marine environment to the products applied as well as the other effects it had made on the testing sites.
Testing will be under laboratory condition and may require field testing that should be complied by the proponents.
As of press time, there are four proponents who presented their product/technology last September 9.
They were the ECO-LOGIX using a liquid solution for degreasing and dispersant, Trevi's International Corporation using a liquid All-in-one plant derivative solution, the enzyme of which was taken from Musa paradisica and grass extract; Stanton Pharmacal, Inc. presented a liquid solution named Ecowaste; and Allen specialty using a powder and Liquid Solution known as ABR Hydrocarbon.
The proponents are now processing their ETVP applications in Manila and in close coordination with DOST-ITDI.
Meanwhile, Amador said while waiting for the bio-remediation proponents, the beach cleaning is still on process, assessment of air and water quality is at a continuous pace and assessment of mangroves is also being done. Every week, the DENR assessment team provides the report to the Guimaras Task Force on the situation of the mangroves and other marine life at Taklong Tandog Seascape.
(September 15, 2006 issue)
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