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Saturday, June 28, 2008
Retrieval of bodies inside sunken ship suspended
MANILA -- Vice President Noli de Castro said Coast Guard, Navy and US servicemen divers were directed Friday to stop from retrieving bodies inside the ill-fated MV Princess of the Stars off the waters of Romblon Province because of the presence of a hazardous pesticide.
Citing information from the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC), de Castro told a press briefing in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City that the ship was carrying 10 metric tons (MTs) of endosulfan when it capsized off Sibuyan Island last Saturday at the height of Typhoon Frank (Fengshen).
Arroyo Watch: Sun.Star blog on President Arroyo
He said the chemical, which can cause deaths and nervous breakdowns when ingested, is owned by Del Monte Philippines for its pineapple plantation in Cagayan de Oro City. The chemical is used to prevent discoloration in pineapples.
"First, our problem in the retrieval (operations) inside the ship is the crude oil; but last Thursday we got information that there is a chemical inside the ship," said de Castro.
"We aborted today. We ordered a stoppage in the retrieval operations at the ship. For the meantime, no divers will dive because of the situation or the problem on the pesticide inside the ship," he said.
Toxic
Health Secretary Francisco Duque said endosulfan is a restricted pesticide. When ingested, he said it can cause death or affect the human's central nervous system manifesting as headaches, dizziness, nausea, tremors, convulsion which may include cardiovascular symptoms.
"When released in the environment, endosulfan enters the air, water and soil, it does not dissolve easily in water," said Duque.
"Most of the chemical in surface water is attached to soil particles floating in the water or attached to soil at the bottom. The small amount of endosulfan dissolves in water over time. Depending on the conditions in the water, endosulfan may break down within one day or may take several months. Some endosulfan in surface water evaporates into air and breaks down," he said.
Duque said fishes that live in waters contaminated by endosulfan can build up endosulfan in their bodies.
"The amount of endosulfan in their bodies can be several times greater than in the surrounding water," the health secretary also said.
At present, Duque said there are no observable signs of endosulfan contamination in and around the waters of the ship. Nevertheless, efforts are ongoing to determine if indeed the waters had been already contaminated or not.
"Despite this, diving and recovery operations have been aborted. There are now efforts to assess exposures of divers and possible illnesses in case there was indeed an endosulfan exposure," said Duque, adding that fishes and marine life harvested in the town of San Fernando are now considered not fit for human consumption until tests indicate there is no contamination.
"The DOH (Department of Health) has set up disease surveillance to monitor other health effect of residents in the area," added Duque.
Test
Transportation Undersecretary Elena Bautista, head of Task Force Princess of the Stars, said they have taken water samples in different parts of the ship and are tested by the Bureau of Plant Industries (BPI) for toxicity level. He said the results might be available late Friday.
"We are hoping that everything is still okay because there is no indication of fish kill. But we are reminding the communities not to eat fish (harvested) there until the results of the laboratory test are available," she said.
Bautista said a foreigner-led team, with their protective gears on, is due to dive into the ship on Saturday "to inspect and assess the condition" in the area. He said it will determine how the chemical, which is at the bottom portion of the submerged ship, would be lifted.
She said the team will determine where to bore a hole on the ship and lift the chemical placed on a 40 feet container van. She said their plan is to send a barge which will lift the van and then turn the chemical over to the Fertilizer and Pesticide Authority (FPA).
Symptoms
Dr. Lynn Panganiban of the University of Philippines' (UP) Poison Management and Control Center said the symptoms to indicate that a person is contaminated with endosulfan are trembling, numbness, irregular heartbeat, and convulsion.
Citing experiments, Panganiban disclosed that the lethal doze for endosulfan is 80 milligrams per kilogram on rats. Translating it to the humans which are "more sensitive", she said the lethal doze is .8 milligram per kilogram.
"This explains the extent of the precautionary measures being undertaken by the government on a worse case scenario and contamination of our environment," said Panganiban, adding however that endosulfan does not easily dissolve in water so a great amount will blend with the soil.
Panganiban said there is no antidote for person infected with endosulfan "although we have supportive measures that can be administered to a person poised by this chemical. It has no antidote but we have medicines to persons to stop its spread."
According to her, the primary way of how endosulfan enters the body is through ingestion. The official said the chemical can also enter the skin through absorption, adding that it can also enter through inhalation but to a "minimal extent."
Violation
On Wednesday, Bautista said Del Monte Philippines informed the FPA in a letter that its chemical shipment was inside the sunken ship. On Thursday, she said FPA wrote the transportation department to relay the information.
According to the FPA, endosulfan is not banned but it is restricted for the use of the pineapple industry. It said Del Monte Philippines and DOLE Philippines are the only companies authorized to import such chemical.
Attached to the FPA letter, Bautista also said, was a letter from Del Monte Philippines, prior to the accident, to Sulpicio Lines - operator of the sunken vessel. The letter, she said, reminded Sulpicio Lines to take extra precautions for the environment and people because of the toxic substance they are boarding to the ill-fated ship.
Bautista said the Philippine Coast Guard, which is under the DOTC, did not authorize the transport of the chemical.
"They should have secured an authority from the Philippine Coast Guard and declare that they are loading hazardous materials. There is no permission from the Coast Guard and there is no certification issued by the Coast Guard," said Bautista.
Nevertheless, Bautista said based on regulations, hazardous chemicals should not be loaded in a passenger ship. "Based on our policy, it's prohibited to load hazardous material on a passenger vessel," the official said.
Bautista said the pesticide loaded at the ship was put inside at least 400 cartoon boxes, each containing at least 25 kilos. The powder chemical, she said, was placed inside plastic bags tied with twister wires.
She stressed that there are still indications that the substance had already diluted. She nevertheless said, "The government is taking all precautionary measures. It is not waiting for unwanted incidents to unfold (before acting)."
She said if the waters are already contaminated with endosulfan, this could mean a catastrophe. "Yes, it can be a catastrophe, that's why we are taking precautions because it's a highly toxic and hazardous chemical to begin with," she said.
The Vice President berated Sulpicio Lines for not immediately reporting to the government that the ship contained hazardous materials. He said that had the government known this, it would have not allowed the divers to go inside the ship.
"Obviously, Sulpicio Lines did not inform us. It is clear that since day one of the tragedy, Sulpicio Lines did not inform us that there is a pesticide inside the ship. We ordered the divers to stop (diving inside the ship) just now because were not immediately informed," he said.
When asked if Sulpicio Lines would be held liable for not immediately reporting the chemical cargo, de Castro said, "Of course, of course. We are readying it, Executive Secretary (Eduardo) Ermita was here and we are preparing actions against Sulpicio Lines."
"It's very clear. This is a violation by Sulpicio Lines. Why did they put a chemical there," he said.
Worse, he said the hazardous chemical were stored in the same area where tomatoes, other vegetables and food items were in.
"That is our report. We have yet to confirm this until after we reach the area or until we see them. This is one of the biggest violations of Sulpicio Lines. The problem is the chemical was wrapped in a plastic and not sealed," said de Castro.
Precautions
From the US, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo ordered the immediate containment of any possible chemical spill following the discovery of up to 10 MTs of endosulfan inside the MV Princess of the Stars.
Deputy presidential spokesman Anthony Golez said search and rescue operations were suspended to ensure the safety of the divers.
"President Arroyo instructed the NDCC (National Disaster Coordinating Council) to focus efforts on trying to contain the chemical and carefully retrieve the 40 feet container, so as not to contaminate the environment," Golez said.
He added that the health department is providing the needed information and health assistance in the area as well as working with the Department of Social Welfare and Development in doing "social preparations to the communities and relatives of the victims".
"All necessary precautions are now being undertaken to ensure the safety of our people," he said.
Burying of bodies
Meanwhile, forensic expert Dr. Raquel Fortun of the UP College of Pathology reiterated calls for residents to refrain from burying bodies that they would recover from the sunken vessel until they have been properly identified by authorities.
Fortun said while the bodies could be exhumed, burying it would make the identification more difficult. She said the state of decomposition of the body also contributes to the difficulty of identifying it.
The Philippine National Red Cross and the Task Force Princess of the Stars reported that about 44 bodies, believed to be from the vessel, have been already buried in the municipalities of Claveria and Mulanay in Quezon Province and in San Pascual and Burias in Romblon due to lack of embalmers and chemicals to preserve the bodies in the said areas. (Sunnex)For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro. (June 28, 2008 issue)
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Kin brave stench to find victims