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Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Strict implementation of waste disposal is answer to Davao River, Gulf pollution woes

Strict implementation of the Solid Waste
Management Ordinance is the key towards keeping the Davao River, and
Davao Gulf clean, according to a city councilor.

Marissa Abella, chair of the council committee on environment, said
the law provides that collection of wastes and proper disposal of
wastes start in the barangays.

“Coastal clean-up is not the answer to addressing the problem of
polluted rivers and gulf, it is addressing the source of the wastes,”
Abella said.

Hence, she said the city should push for the solid waste management by
stepping up the information education communication (IEC) in the
barangays and to all communities.

Davao Gulf Management Council (DGMC) chair and former councilor
Leonardo Avilla, III, also former committee on environment chair, said
as of last year, Davao City generated 700 tons of garbage every day.

But with the implementation of the Solid Waste Management Ordinance
the volume of wastes is believed to have been reduced.

Avila said the ordinance was already approved by the previous council
and is currently subject for publication. After it is published, the
city government will come up with the implementing rules and
guidelines, afterwhich, implementation of the ordinance will go full
blast.

Abella said the creation of the Solid Waste Management Board is also
significant to give teeth to the implementation of the ordinance. She
said the city has yet to come up with the board’s composition.

Cristy Gallano, managing consultant of the Davao River initiatives for
her part said the condition of the Davao river systems however is not
hopeless.

She said there are still rivers that remained clean and are not
suffering siltation among others, Tamugan River and rivers in the
Paquibato area.

She is amenable that proper waste disposal plays a big factor towards
keeping the rivers clean.

She said the city government should be serious in implementing the
Solid Waste Management Ordinance not only in the city but also in the
communities.

Group lauds TEPO on coal

Environment groups lauded the temporary environmental protection order
(TEPO) that prohibits owners and operators of coal-fired power plants
to bring coal ash outside their premises.

The Manila-based Eco-Waste coalition commended the Philippine Earth
Justice Center (PEJC), one of the petitioners for the Tepo on coal ash
disposal, through its coordinator lawyer Gloria Estenzo-Ramos.

"We commend and congratulate the PEJC and other concerned groups and
residents who acted as petitioners for invoking the precautionary
principle to uphold the constitutional rights of affected communities
from improperly disposed coal ash, which constitutes a public health
hazard," Rei Panaligan, EcoWaste Coalition Coordinator said in a
statement.

Updates on President Benigno Aquino III's presidency

"Precaution, a universally-accepted principle, tells us to err on the
side of caution if only to ensure the health and safety of our people
and the environment from toxic risks," he added.

The TEPO has lapsed but may be extended, depending on an inspection in October.

In a citizen's suit filed last Aug. 12, 2010, PEJC and other
petitioners said, "even in the absence of full scientific certainty as
to the how much harm coal ash affects the health of petitioners and
the ecosystem, this court is still required under the rules to
exercise and adopt a precautionary attitude."

Mandaue Regional Trial Court Judge Marilyn Lagura-Yap issued an
ex-parte Tepo last Aug. 16. The order became effective for 72 hours
from date of receipt of the private respondents.

She noted that the power plants should stop disposing of coal ash
indiscriminately as they do not have surface impoundment or a sanitary
landfill. She also cited the precautionary principle as stated in the
Rules of Procedure for Environmental Cases.

According to the rules, there are factors to be considered in applying
the principle: threats to human life or health, inequity to present or
future generations, or prejudice to the environment without legal
consideration of the environmental rights of those affected.

PEJC coordinator Estenzo-Ramos said the Tepo, which is only the second
issued in the country, is a milestone in environmental defense.

"The remedies afforded to citizens under the Rules are empowering and
should send a strong signal to law enforcement agencies, including
local government units, to shape up and comply with their mandates. We
cannot allow polluting industries to continue treating residents of
host communities as second-class citizens in their own country and
destroying our life support systems," she said.

Curbs set on cyanide-laced jewelry cleaners

GOVERNMENT agencies led by the Department of Environment and Natural
Resources finally listened to the clamor of civil society to implement
stricter measures on the sale of highly poisonous silver cleaners
containing cyanide and other toxic chemicals in the market to avoid
deaths from cyanide poisoning.

In a multi-sectoral consultative meeting, it was agreed that the
Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), through its Bureau of Trade
Regulations and Consumer Protection, will ban the sale of
cyanide-laced silver jewelry cleaners in the market that have not been
duly tested, registered, and labeled cyanide-free.

The DTI will tap retailer or supermarket associations to do the same
in their outlets.

The DTI’s Bureau of Product Standards will also review the possibility
of subjecting silver jewelry cleaners to its Philippine Standard (PS)
certification scheme.

The Department of Health, through its Food and Drug Administration,
will include a registration for jewelry cleaners that do not contain
cyanide.

The agencies also agreed to implement a stricter monitoring system for
permits and clearances of facility owners, as well as the sale of
cleaners that have not been duly tested, registered, and certified
cyanide-free.

Environment Secretary Ramon Paje said that as early as 1997, the DENR
issued Administrative Order No. 39 or the Chemical Control Order (CCO)
for cyanide and cyanide compounds.

Under the order, the DENR-Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) is
tasked to control the industrial importation, handling, use,
distribution, and disposal of cyanide and cyanide compounds.

EcoWaste Coalition welcomes MMDA’s renewed drive vs litterbugs

A group campaigning for a “litter-free
Pilipinas” welcomed the decision by the Metro Manila Development
Authority (MMDA) to revive an anti-littering policy that has been
dormant for years.

The EcoWaste Coalition, in a statement, said that the move to
resuscitate MMDA Regulation No. 96-009 as amended by MMDA Regulation
No. 99-006 should strengthen the agency’s operations, in collaboration
with local government units (LGUs), to clear the streets and waterways
of trash.

MMDA Chairman Francis Tolentino vowed recently to implement the ban on
littering, dumping and disposal of trash in public places as embodied
in the said regulation that penalizes violators with a fine of P500 to
P1,000 or a corrective community service.

“We seek and support the earnest enforcement of R.A. 9003 and related
ordinances and measures by the MMDA and the 17 LGUs to curb
indiscriminate waste disposal and encourage environmental stewardship
among Metro Manila residents,” said Roy Alvarez, President, EcoWaste
Coalition.

R.A. 9003, or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act, promotes
waste avoidance and volume reduction, separation of discards at
source, reuse, recycling, composting and other best practices in waste
management sans incineration.

“Littering affects everyone even those who litter,” said Alvarez. “We
all suffer from this filthy habit that chokes storm drains and
triggers disruptive and health-threatening flashfloods,” he said.

“A crackdown on litterbugs is justified in order to safeguard the
public health, safety and welfare,” Alvarez pointed out.

“Launching a litter-free Metro Manila campaign is a meaningful way to
observe the first anniversary of Ondoy’s epic flood, which falls
within the Creation Month, and affirm our environmental
responsibility,” he suggested.

“Christians from various denominations mark September as the Creation
Month to remind the faithful about our relationship with Mother Nature
and our shared mission to respect and care for her,” he added.

As the EcoWaste Coalition urges the government and people to make the
metropolis and the whole country litter-free, the group issued a list
of 10 friendly reminders for all caring Filipinos to consider to
foster cleaner and healthier communities:

1. Set a good example, especially for kids, by not littering;
discourage others from doing so by politely explaining the effects of
littering.

2. Reduce your waste size, separate and reuse your discards, recycle
the non-biodegradables and compost the organics.

3. Do not throw hazardous discards such as mercury-containing lamps
into regular trash.

4. Do not leave your trash out by the road for collection.

5. Avoid using plastic bags and other single-use disposable items that
only add to our mounting garbage; choose reusables.

6. Hold on to your rubbish such as bus tickets, food wrappers and
cigarette filters, until you have found a waste bin.

7. Do not throw litter out of cars. Place a litter bag in your vehicle
to collect your trash until a bin is available.

8. For chewing gum consumers: “you chew it, you must bin it.”

9. For smokers: “don’t just drop cigarette butt, bin it.”

10. For pet owners: “don’t give your dog a bad name, pick up after them.”

Groups call for removal of endosulfan from Bulacan warehouse

An alliance of environmental advocates have
called for the removal of a hazardous pesticide sitting in a warehouse
near Manila.

Around 10 metric tons of endosulfan, a dangerous pesticide, are
stockpiled in a private warehouse in Meycauayan, Bulacan, according to
environmental groups.

The EcoWaste Coalition, Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives
(GAIA) and Pesticide Action Network (PAN) urged President Benigno
Aquino to ship out of the country the harmful chemical before it
becomes a “toxic challenge.”

The tons of pesticide, imported by Del Monte Philippines, were among
those salvaged from the ill-fated Princess of the Stars that sank off
Sibuyan Island in June 2008.

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources - Environmental
Management Bureau (DENR-EMB) has confirmed to the groups that the
endosulfan are being stored in the warehouse of Vertical Fertilizer
Chemical Corporation in Meycauayan.

“With US and now Canada banning the highly hazardous pesticide, we are
at great risk of inheriting a toxic legacy if the endosulfan stocks
are not shipped out fast by Del Monte, its owner,” warned Dr. Romy
Quijano, President of PAN-Philippines.

At least 69 nations have banned the use of the toxic pesticide. Canada
and US recently joined the list of countries that are against the use
of endosulfan, which is being targeted for a global ban under
Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs).

Roy Alvarez, EcoWaste Coalition president said Del Monte should take
responsibility and assist in removing the pesticide from the facility.

“It’s time for the endosulfan to go and get destroyed in a safe
manner. We urge all parties, including Del Monte, to cooperate to
ensure that Bulacan and the whole country is endosulfan-free,” he
said.

The DENR has issued a temporary ban for the importation and
distribution of pesticide in February 2009, stressing the need “to
protect the public and the environment from any undesirable risk
hazards on its continued use.”

Manny Calonzo, Co-Coordinator of GAIA said the government should move
fast in ridding the country of the toxic material, saying that
“storing endosulfan, a costly and dangerous task, is the last thing
that our cash-strapped and toxic-ridden nation needs.”

Aquino urged to act quickly to remove endosulfan from RP

Environmental groups have asked President Benigno Aquino III to "act
quickly" in removing a highly hazardous pesticide in a Bulacan
warehouse before it becomes "a toxic challenge."

Ten metric tons of endosulfan — which can cause severe physical
deformities, even death, among others — should be "shipped out fast"
by the shipment’s owner Del Monte, the EcoWaste Coalition, Global
Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA) and Pesticide Action
Network (PAN) said in a statement.

Without swift action, the Philippines is at a great risk "of
inheriting a toxic legacy," Dr. Romeo Quijano, president of
PAN-Philippines, said in a statement.

“We cannot afford to move at a snail’s pace," said Manny Calonzo,
co-coordinator of GAIA, adding that “storing endosulfan, a costly and
dangerous task, is the last thing that our cash-strapped and
toxic-ridden nation needs."

“It’s time for the endosulfan to go and get destroyed in a safe
manner. We urge all parties, including Del Monte, to cooperate to
ensure that Bulacan and the whole country is endosulfan-free," said
Roy Alvarez, President, EcoWaste Coalition, in the same statement.

The hazardous materials — salvaged in October 2008 from the MV
Princess of the Stars which sank in the waters off Sibuyan Island in
June of the same year — are currently stored in the facility of
Vertical Fertilizer Chemical Corp. in Meycauayan, Bulacan.

The shipment is in the process of being transported out of the country
for its destruction, Fertilizer Pesticide Authority Norlito Gicana
told GMANews.TV in a text message.

The matter is currently being handled by Anneli Lontoc, an
undersecretary for road transportation at the Department of
Transportation and Communication (DOTC).

Text messages sent to Joan Marfil, Lontoc’s assistant, have been unanswered.

The DENR in February 2009 temporarily banned the importation,
distribution, and use of endosulfan in the country, stressing the need
“to protect the public and the environment from any undesirable risk
hazards on its continued use."

Meanwhile, the United States and Canada recently joined a growing list
of countries, now numbering 69, that has taken action to ban
endosulfan, a chemical being targeted for a global ban under the
Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs).

The Pest Management Regulatory Agency of Canada recently withdrew
support for the use of endosulfan, citing the concern for workers’
safety, the risk posed to non-target organisms and persistence of
endosulfan in the environment and the potential for bioaccumulation.

In June, the US Environmental Protection Agency decided to end all
uses of endosulfan after assessing that endosulfan “can pose
unacceptable neurological and reproductive risks to farmworkers and
wildlife and can persist in the environment."

“Ano ang nasa tubig mo?” Greenpeace demands Zero Discharge Policy in the Philippines

Greenpeace today asked Filipinos “Ano ang nasa tubig mo?” (“Do you know what’s in your water?”) to elicit their participation in the campaign for immediate implementation of a mandatory chemical disclosure system for industries, and to eliminate harmful wastewater from factories through a ‘zero discharge’ policy (1).



“Greenpeace is launching this initiative with a challenge to the public to think about what hidden chemicals are lurking in our lakes and rivers. These freshwater bodies are the ultimate sources of the water we drink and use. But our rivers and lakes are continually threatened by chemical industrial pollution — hidden dangers that are difficult to detect and are even harder to clean up,” said Beau Baconguis, Greenpeace Southeast Asia Toxics Campaigner.



“The public has the right to know what’s in their water. Today we are calling on people from all walks of life to join us in raising the alarm for government action to enforce concrete and effective measures to protect water quality, beginning with a policy that will openly disclose hazardous chemical use of factories,” she added.



The quality of fresh water sources in the Philippines is steadily declining while the costs of obtaining clean water is rising. And although government agencies monitor water quality, the parameters are severely limited and do not include many toxic substances from new technologies, including some of the most harmful compounds known to

humans such as persistent organic pollutants or POPs (2). Previous Greenpeace researches (3) reveal that many industrial discharges often contain hazardous chemicals which are persistent, bio-accumulated and toxic. The problem arises from poor environmental protection control, dirty industrial production using hazardous chemicals and blatant disregard for environment laws.



To date, no laws or regulations give Filipinos the right to know about hazardous chemicals use by factories, and their transfer and release to the environment. Thus there is no information available on the types and amounts of toxic chemicals which are released into water bodies.



“Pollution is not a secret. Freedom of Information must extend to industrial use of poisonous chemicals. Effective protection of our water resources depends highly on public access to information and public participation in decision-making. Greenpeace is therefore calling on the public to be part of this initiative to protect the water we drink by joining us in demanding the government to institute legislation to address the rights of the public to know about toxic releases from industry. This will open toxic chemical use to public scrutiny and safeguard each citizen’s right to a healthy environment,” said Baconguis.



The problem of water pollution aggravates the problem of water scarcity which is a serious threat to the country during dry season. The campaign “Ano ang nasa tubig mo?” is a continuation of the Greenpeace Water Patrol initiative “Saan galing ang tubig mo?” conducted last April. Both projects aim to deepen public awareness regarding threats to our water supply and every citizen’s role in protecting it.

Envi-groups laud DOH scrapping of incinerator plan

This was the call of Health Care Without Harm-Southeast Asia
(HCWH-SEA), Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA),
Greenpeace and Ecowaste Coalition in a round table discussion with the
Department of Health (DoH) where the later announced the scrapping of
planned revival of incinerators.

The DoH's draft Health Executive Agenda for Legislation proposed
amendment of the Clean Air Act (1) to allow the use of incinerators
designed in such a way that product combustion gases shall be treated
and harmful emissions are removed before gases are released to the
atmosphere and (2) advance emission control design and stringent
regulation shall ensure wastes are disposed without detrimental impact
to the environment.

The four organizations immediately questioned the proposal and sent a
letter asking the Department to scrap the plan. DoH immediately
retracted the plan and said it will no longer include incineration in
the HEAL which will be presented in Congress.

Cancel incinerator plan, cancel incinerator debt

The groups likewise asked the DoH to take an active role in pushing
the Legislative to cancel the debt payment for the P503-million
Austrian Medical Waste Incinerator Project.

The government started paying the loan in 2001 and is scheduled to pay
an average US$2 million a year until 2014.

It is the group's assertion that the annual payment of the debt of
US$2M should be re-channeled to much needed health services,
specifically funding for safe waste treatment and disposal of public
hospitals and other health care facilities' infectious wastes.

In 1999, Philippines successfully banned the use of incinerators for
general wastes and subsequently the use of incinerators for medical
waste in 2003 "which process emits poisonous and toxic fumes" with the
approval of the CAA. The country remains the only country in the world
to ban incinerators.

According to the group of environmentalists, "We are paying for
supposedly state-of-the-art medical waste incinerators that were
proven to be substandard and emitting dioxins way beyond the limit set
by CAA. One of these incinerators, for instance, scandalously emitted
nine times the limit for particulate matter, twelve times the limit
set for hydrogen chloride, almost double the limit for lead and 870
times the limit for dioxins and furans compared to the CAA threshold."

Alternatives everywhere

HCWH-SEA highlighted the presence of alternatives to incineration
which are far safer. They cited several hospitals who for years have
used the basics of waste management. These are waste minimization,
segregation, proper training and knowledge of safe non-burn treatment
systems and technologies.

"There is no need for us to go back to incineration." according to
Merci Ferrer of HCWH-SEA. "What DOH and other government agencies
concerned on wastes should do is sustain their efforts in monitoring
the compliance of health care facilities on proper health care waste
management and be vigilant on the resurgence of incinerators in the
guise of pyrolisis, plasma, thermal oxidizer…"

Thursday, August 26, 2010

P-Noy asked to fast track removal of endosulfan out of RP

As the momentum for a global ban on
endosulfan continues, concerned groups reminded President Benigno
"P-Noy" Aquino III to act fast in removing a stockpile of this highly
hazardous pesticide in Bulacan before it turns into a toxic challenge.

The EcoWaste Coalition, Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives
(GAIA) and Pesticide Action Network (PAN) urged P-Noy to push for the
shipment out of the country of some 10 metric tons of endosulfan that
have been sitting in a private warehouse in Meycauyan, Bulacan.

As confirmed by the Department of Environment and Natural
Resources-Environmental Management Bureau (DENR-EMB) to the groups,
the hazardous materials are being stored in the facility of Vertical
Fertilizer Chemical Corporation in the said municipality.

It will be recalled that the tons of endosulfan imported by Del Monte
Philippines were salvaged in October 2008 from the ill-fated MV
Princess of the Stars owned by Sulpicio Lines, which sank in the
waters off Sibuyan Island in June 2008.

“With US and now Canada banning the highly hazardous pesticide, we are
at great risk of inheriting a toxic legacy if the endosulfan stocks
are not shipped out fast by Del Monte, its owner,” warned Dr. Romy
Quijano, President, PAN-Philippines.

“We could not afford to move at a snail’s pace,” stated Manny Calonzo,
Co-Coordinator of GAIA, adding that “storing endosulfan, a costly and
dangerous task, is the last thing that our cash-strapped and
toxic-ridden nation needs.”

“It’s time for the endosulfan to go and get destroyed in a safe
manner. We urge all parties, including Del Monte, to cooperate to
ensure that Bulacan and the whole country is endosulfan-free,” said
Roy Alvarez, President, EcoWaste Coalition

Canada and the US recently joined a growing list of countries, now
numbering 69, that has taken action to ban endosulfan, a chemical
being targeted for a global ban under the Stockholm Convention on
Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs).

The Pest Management Regulatory Agency of Canada recently withdrew
support for the use of endosulfan, citing the concern for workers’
safety, the risk posed to non-target organisms and persistence of
endosulfan in the environment and the potential for bioaccumulation.

The US Environmental Protection Agency last June decided to end all
uses of endosulfan after assessing that endosulfan “can pose
unacceptable neurological and reproductive risks to farmworkers and
wildlife and can persist in the environment.”

The DENR in February 2009 temporarily banned the importation,
distribution and use of endosulfan in the country, stressing the need
“to protect the public and the environment from any undesirable risk
hazards on its continued use.”

Exposure to endosulfan, according to numerous studies, can cause
severe and debilitating physical deformities, reproductive health
problems, renal failure, and in some cases has been fatal.

Cebu waste workers take a break to discuss threats from toxic chemicals

Some members of the Cebu informal waste
sector (IWS) on Monday and took a half-day off from their backbreaking
work to talk about chemical risks associated with their “climate
cooling” but hazard-prone occupation.

The participating waste pickers, garbage collectors and junkshop
owners, who either work or live near dumpsite communities in the
cities of Cebu, Lapu-Lapu, Mandaue and Talisay and in the town of
Umapad, took part in a workshop on chemical safety, focusing on the
concerns of the IWS.

They were joined by government and civil society representatives who
also came to learn about the occupational safety and health issues
affecting the IWS and explore possibilities of working together to
limit, if not eliminate, waste workers’ exposure to harmful chemicals.

The EcoWaste Coalition, a waste and toxic watchdog, organized the
workshop in partnership with the City Government of Mandaue, the
Department of Social Welfare and Development Region VII, Freedom from
Debt Coalition-Cebu and Sanlakas.

“The IWS plays a very significant role in recycling valuable materials
that are ultimately returned and reused by the economy. By cutting
greenhouse gas emissions from waste disposal and from the use of
virgin materials, recycling by the IWS and the society generate
climate cooling effects,” said Aileen Lucero of the EcoWaste
Coalition’s Project PROTECT (People Responding and Organizing against
Toxic Chemical Threats).

“However, their work is fraught with serious risks and hazards such as
the tendency to be exposed to harmful substances, sharp objects and
infectious materials,” she added.

A study conducted in 2004 by the Global Alliance for Incinerator
Alternatives, Mother Earth Foundation and the Smokey Mountain Resource
Recovery Systems, in collaboration with groups in Cambodia and India,
says that “exposure to a cocktail of toxic fumes and other chemicals
in the dump and from open burning is a major threat to the health of
the community.”

Some of the prevailing practices that expose waste workers to a range
of highly toxic chemicals include burning PVC coated copper wires
(that releases dioxins,” the most toxic man-made chemical”), smashing
open TV cathode ray tubes to remove copper yokes (that releases large
quantities of lead, a neurotoxin, and other chemicals of concern),
crashing spent fluorescent lamps with mercury (another neurotoxicant),
and cutting open electrical equipment containing poisonous oils like
polychlorinated biphenyls (a suspected human carcinogen), among
others.

Eileen Sison, NGO representative to the National Solid Waste
Management Commission, who spoke at the workshop, reported that “the
government has already formulated a national framework plan for the
IWS and if the IWS in Cebu can work together, they can be recognized
by their local government and have secure and safe access to
livelihood from recycling.”

“A collaborative approach involving the IWS, the government, private
sector and the civil society is essential to improve the working and
living conditions of the IWS and to address issues concerning chemical
safety, public health and environmental protection,” she pointed
out.

Eco groups seek stricter measures vs poisonous jewelry cleaner

Ecological groups are urging the government to impose stricter
measures to control the use of a banned silver jewelry cleaner
containing cyanide.

EcoWaste Coalition said cyanide-laced silver jewelry cleaners, banned
since 1997, has killed nine people from January to June this year,
five of them children.

Citing data from the UP National Poison Management and Control Center
(UPNPMCC), EcoWaste said in 2009 alone, 11 persons, eight of them
children, died out of the 235 people who were poisoned by the silver
cleaner.

The UPNPMCC figures showed that the non-accidental intake of silver
cleaners rose from 7 percent in 2005 to 86 percent in 2009, the group
said in the open letter posted on the EcoWaste Coalition website.

"This deadly concoction has become a modern day scourge linked to
senseless deaths of young, adolescent and adult Filipinos," EcoWaste
Coalition said in an open letter to Environment Secretary Ramon Paje
and Environmental Management Bureau chief Juan Miguel Cuna.

They urged the DENR-EMB to:

1. Strictly enforce the ban on the use of cyanide in silver jewelry cleaners;

2. Confiscate, with the help of law enforcement units, silver cleaners
that are not duly registered, labelled, tested and certified as
cyanide-free;

3. Duly charge violators, and

3. Promote non-toxic alternatives to cleaning tarnished jewelry.

According to EcoWaste, the DENR's EMB is chiefly and legally
responsible in implementing the ban on cyanide-laced silver jewelry
cleaners, imposed in 1997.

"Whether or not silver cleaners are classified as products or
substances, the fact remains that the CCO is shamelessly violated,
thus endangering the people’s health and safety," they said.

"These senseless deaths could have been prevented if only the ban on
the commercial use of cyanide (i.e., as one of the chemical additives
of silver cleaners) had been firmly enforced. Our government can stop
this deadly onslaught by enforcing the ban and bringing to court
unscrupulous producers, distributors and vendors of this toxic stuff
who, knowingly or unwittingly, victimize innocent children and exploit
people’s despair," the group said.

"An 'Oplan Silver Cleaner,' led by the DENR-EMB and supported by other
stakeholders, should be launched with urgency, mindful that we are
racing against time to save the next Filipino from getting injured and
killed by cyanide poisoning," they said.

EcoWaste urges government to ban silver cleaners from market

Environmental groups have urged the government
to remove from the market silver cleaners containing cyanide and other
toxic chemicals.

In a letter sent to Environmental Management Bureau Director Juan
Miguel Cuna, the EcoWaste Coalition, Global Alliance for Incinerator
Alternatives (GAIA) and Mother Earth Foundation (MEF) sought to
eliminate silver cleaners from the market because of numerous
incidences of cyanide poisoning.

“Silver cleaners containing sodium or potassium cyanide salts and
other toxic substances continue to cause preventable mortalities among
young children who mistake them for water, and adults who purposely
drink them to commit suicide,” said retired chemist Sonia Mendoza,
chair of MEF.

An advisory issued by the Department of Health (DOH) last month said
cyanide found in most silver cleaning solutions is classified as
poisonous and can cause serious injury and even death.

“Cyanide is rapidly absorbed in the body and blocks utilization of
oxygen in all organs,” the advisory said. “Poisoning with silver
jewelry cleaner is a life-threatening condition and should be treated
in the hospital as a medical emergency.”

Power plants ordered to stop coal ash emissions

Green advocates lauded Saturday a Mandaue City court directive halting
the disposal of coal ash generated by coal-fired power plants located
in Naga and Toledo Cities in Cebu.

Last August 20, Mandaue City Regional Trial Court (RTC) Presiding
Judge Marilyn Lagura-Yap issued a temporary environmental protection
order (TEPO) to remedy the “indiscriminate coal ash disposal” in the
cities of Naga and Toledo.

“We commend and congratulate the Philippine Earth Justice Center
(PEJC) and other concerned groups and residents who acted as
petitioners for invoking the precautionary principle to uphold the
constitutional rights of affected communities in seeking protection
from improperly disposed coal ash, which constitutes a public health
hazard,” EcoWaste Coalition coordinator Rei Panaligan said.

Panaligan was referring to a petition filed last August 12 by the
Cebu-based PEJC before the Mandaue City RTC, citing the ill-effects of
coal ash on human health and the environment.

PEJC and other petitioners said that “even in the absence of full
scientific certainty as to how much harm coal ash affects the health
of petitioners and the ecosystem, this Court is still required under
the rules to exercise and adopt a precautionary attitude.”

It also cited the “Supreme Court Rules of Procedure for Environmental
Cases,” which said that the following factors may, among others, be
considered in applying said precautionary principle, namely: Threats
to human life or health, inequity to present or future generations, or
prejudice to the environment without legal consideration of the
environmental rights of those affected.

PEJC coordinator Gloria Estenzo-Ramos, also a law professor, said that
the TEPO, a milestone in environmental defense, was made possible by
the adoption of the Supreme Court under then Chief Justice Reynato
Puno of the “Rules of Procedure for Environmental Cases.”

Ramos pointed out, “The remedies afforded to citizens under the Rules
are empowering and should send a strong signal to law enforcement
agencies, including local government units, to shape up and comply
with their mandates. We cannot allow polluting industries to continue
treating residents of host communities as second class citizens in
their own country and destroying our life support systems.”

For his part, Benjamin Cabrido Jr., counsel for the petitioners, said,
“This TEPO against coal-fired power plants is a moral victory for
Filipino children and future generations who will be bearing the brunt
of climate change.”

GREENS HAIL COURT ORDER AS VICTORY FOR ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH AND JUSTICE (Green groups promote precautionary principle to combat toxic threat)

21 August 2010, Cebu City/Quezon City. Environmental advocates lauded
a court directive halting the disposal of coal combustion waste, or
coal ash, by power plants in Naga and Toledo Cities as a triumph for
environmental health and justice.

Participants of a workshop on the “precautionary principle” in Cebu
City applauded the issuance yesterday by the Regional Trial Court in
Mandaue City of a temporary environmental protection order (TEPO) to
remedy "indiscriminate coal ash disposal" in Naga and Toledo.

Organized by the Quezon City-based EcoWaste Coalition and the Cebu
City-based Philippine Earth Justice Center (PEJC), the workshop
emphasized adherence to the precautionary principle as fundamental to
promoting chemical safety and a toxic-free society for all.

“We commend and congratulate the PEJC and other concerned groups and
residents who acted as petitioners for invoking the precautionary
principle to uphold the constitutional rights of affected communities
from improperly disposed coal ash, which constitutes a public health
hazard,” said Rei Panaligan, Coordinator, EcoWaste Coalition.

“Precaution, a universally-accepted principle, tells us to err on the
side of caution if only to ensure the health and safety of our people
and the environment from toxic risks,” he explained.

Law professor Gloria Estenzo-Ramos, PEJC Coordinator, said that the
TEPO, a milestone in environmental defense, was made possible by the
adoption of the Supreme Court under then Chief Justice Reynato Puno of
the "Rules of Procedure for Environmental Cases."

"The remedies afforded to citizens under the Rules are empowering and
should send strong a strong signal to law enforcement agencies,
including local government units, to shape up and comply with their
mandates. We cannot allow polluting industries to continue treating
residents of host communities as second class citizens in their own
country and destroying our life support systems," she said.

For his part Atty. Benjamin Cabrido, Jr., also of PEJC, said: "This
TEPO against coal-fired power plants is a moral victory for the
Filipino children and future generations who will be bearing the brunt
of climate change. Now our generation can say that during our watch,
we at least did try to make a difference."

In a citizen's suit filed last week, PEJC and other petitioners said
that “even in the absence of full scientific certainty as to the how
much harm coal ash affects the health of petitioners and the
ecosystem, this Court is still required under the rules to exercise
and adopt a precautionary attitude.”

As stated in the "Supreme Court Rules of Procedure for Environmental
Cases," the following factors may, among others, be considered in
applying the precautionary principle: 1) threats to human life or
health, 2) inequity to present or future generations, or 3) prejudice
to the environment without legal consideration of the environmental
rights of those affected.

The workshop featured internationally-recognized public health
advocate Dr. Romy Quijano, a toxicologist, who spoke about the
elements of the precautionary principle and the need for vigilance to
“protect human health and the environment and to prevent any potential
adverse effects.”

The workshop also discussed various initiatives to mainstream the
precautionary principle in environmental legislation and governance
such as in the incineration ban under the Clean Air Act and the
Ecological Solid Waste Management Act.

As a concrete example, the EcoWaste Coalition cited the ongoing
UN-assisted project to eliminate the country’s stockpiles of
polychlorinated biphenyls, the highly toxic oil found in old
electrical transformers, using a non-combustion technology.

“The collaborative effort to rid the country of PCBs through a
non-burn approach without emitting toxic byproducts should serve as a
model in the path to make the precautionary principle the cornerstone
of any activity, specifically when dealing with hazardous chemicals,”
said Rey Palacio, project staff of the EcoWaste Coalition.

The workshop also saw the participants discussing the “Citizens’
Agenda for Zero Waste and Chemical Safety Agenda,” enriching the
document with issues and demands specific to Cebu and the Visayas,
such as the problem with coal combustion waste and its disposal.

Grupo, nais ipatanggal sa merkado ang cyanide

Ika-16 ng Agosto, 2010 | LUNGSOD NG QUEZON- Hinihimok ngayon ng mga
grupong nagbabantay sa kaligtasan mula sa mga kenikal ang pamahalaan
na magsulong ng malawakang kampanyang mag-aalis sa merkado ng lubhang
nakalalasong panlinis ng alahas na silver, ang cyanide.

Sa isang liham na ipinadala nitong ika-16 ng Agosto kay Atty. Juan
Miguel Cuna, Director ng Environmental Management Bureau (EMB),
ipinanukala ng EcoWaste Coalition, Global Alliance for Incinerator
Alternatives (GAIA) at ng Mother Earth Foundation (MEF) ang
pagsasagawa ng “Oplan Silver Cleaner” upang tuluyan nang maputol ang
suplay ng naturang nakalalasong kemikal na bumawi sa maraming buhay ng
mga Pilipino.

Ayon kay Sonia Mendoza ng MEF at dating chemist (eksperto sa kemikal),
“Patuloy na nagiging sanhi ng pagkamatay ng mga musmos ang panlinis ng
silver na mayroong cyanide, kanila itong napagkakamalang tubig,
gayundin sa matatanda nama’y ginagamit sa pagpapatiwakal.”

Para naman kay Manny Calonzo, Co-Coordinator ng samahang GAIA. “Sa
pamamagitan ng ‘Oplan Silver Cleaner’, umaasa kami na mapuputol ang
tali ng mga pagkamatay at pinsala dulot ng pagkalason sa cyanide, at
ito rin ang magpapakilala sa mga alternatibong panglinis na walang
lason.”

Para maging epektibo ang “Oplan Silver Cleaner”, ayon sa mga grupo,
dapat ay makilahok dito ang malalaking mamumuhunan (stakeholder),
kabilang ang mga departamento ng gobyerno, ahensyang nagpapatupad ng
mga batas, poison management and control units, asosyon ng mga nasa
industriya ng pag-aalahas at ng mga taga-media.

Samantala, sa impormasyong nakalap ng EcoWaste mula sa UP National
Poison Management and Control Center (UPNPMCC) – Philippine General
Hospital (PGH) at ng Poison Control Unit sa East Avenue Medical Center
sa Lungsod ng Quezon, ang panlinis na ito ng alahas ang isa sa tatlong
pangunahing sanhi ng pagkakaospital nitong nakaraang dalawang taon.

Ang UPNPMCC ay may naitala nang 235 naospital sa PGH at 118 tawag sa
telepono noong 2009.

Iniulat din ng UPNPMCC na may 11 namatay nitong 2009 dahil sa panlinis
ng alahas.
Batay sa babala na ipinalabas ng Department of Health (DOH) noong
Hulyo ng taong ito, ang cyanide na matatagpuan sa karamihan sa mga
panlinis ng alahas na silver ay itinuturing na nakalalason, at ito ay
nakamamatay o nakapipinsala sa kalusugan.

Ayon pa rin sa DOH, “Ang cyanide ay mabilis na nakakapasok sa katawan
at nababarahan ang mga organ na gumagamit ng oxygen. Samakatuwid, ang
pagkakalason sa mga panlinis ng alahas na silver ay banta sa buhay at
dapat mabigyang agarang lunas sa mga ospital bilang emergency.”

Noong 1997 nagpalabas ang DENR ng “Chemical Control Order (CCO) for
Cyanide and Cyanide Compounds” upang makontrol ang paggamit nito at
pagkalat sa paligid, at upang maiwasan ang panganib dahil sa kahit ito
ay maliit na bahagi lamang o konsentrasyon ito ay lubhang nakalalason
sa tao at sa mga buhay sa dagat.

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Eco groups seek ban on chemical used in baby feeding bottles

Citing its potential harmful effect on infants, an ecological group
are calling for a precautionary ban on "bisphenol A (BPA)," a chemical
used in making plastic feeding bottles for babies.

EcoWaste Coalition said BPA, an industrial chemical used to make
polycarbonate plastics and epoxy resins for lining metal cans, has
been linked to health issues.

“The heightened global concern over human exposure to BPA and the
probable health effects even at very low doses should move the
government into imposing a precautionary ban starting with BPA-tainted
children’s products," said Velvet Roxas, a representative of EcoWaste
Coalition and Arugaan,

Arugaan and EcoWaste raised the issue about BPA during the celebration
of World Breastfeeding Action Week from August 1 to 7.

Roxas said the dangers posed by BPA-laced feeding bottles should
encourage mothers to breastfeed their babies.

They said studies showed that exposure to BPA, even at extremely low
doses, can cause reproductive, nervous, and behavioral developmental
disorders, among others.

The groups said BPA is already banned in other countries. California
legislators voted in June to ban BPA in baby products for children,
three years old and younger.

Denmark, in March 2009, banned BPA in food and drink containers for
children three years old and younger. Canada, in 2008, banned the use
of BPA in baby feeding bottles.

The groups said an international conference, to be convened by the
Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Health Organization
will be held in Canada in October 2010, to develop a guide on BPA for
food safety regulators.

A fact sheet on BPA, published by EcoWaste, said exposure to BPA comes
mostly from consuming food, which could be tainted by BPA from the
epoxy linings of canned foods and polycarbonate containers.

Arugaan and EcoWaste issued the following guidelines to prevent or
reduce exposure to BPA:

1. Nourish your child with breastmilk, the most complete and first
Zero Waste food. Go for exclusive breastfeeding for the first six
months and continue breastfeeding for two years and beyond.

2. Go for cupfeeding or the giving of expressed breast milk through
cups as the situation requires (expressing is the taking of milk from
the breast, without the baby suckling, by hand or with a breast pump).

3. Refrain from feeding your baby canned foods with plastic linings,
which might contain BPA.

4. Avoid polycarbonate plastic containers, usually marked “PC" or the
number “7"; use safer alternatives such as glass, ceramics or
stainless steel.

5. Refrain from microwaving food and beverage in plastic or plastic
cling wraps. If you prefer to microwave, put the food or drink on a
suitable plate or cup instead.

6. Reduce consumption of canned foods as can liners may contain BPA;
opt for fresh natural and indigenous food instead.

7. Check product labels and select the ones that say “BPA-Free." Ask
your retailer to offer BPA-free products.

Thursday, August 19, 2010

Mexico City bans free plastic bags

A new law has come into effect in Mexico City giving the authorities
the power to fine shops which give away free plastic bags to their
customers.

In future, shops in the Mexican capital will have to charge for the
bags, which must also be biodegradable.

As well as fines of up to $90,000 (£57,700), shop owners not complying
can be given a 36-hour jail term.

A local official said the law was part of the city's "Green Plan" and
aimed to raise awareness of the environment.

"This won't happen overnight," Leticia Bonifaz Alfonso told the Efe news agency.

Officials estimate that people in Mexico City at present use more than
20 million plastic bags per day. They are blamed for many health and
environmental hazards.

Efforts in cities across the world are being made to reduce the use of
plastic bags.

The bags are made mostly from polyethylene, a derivative of petroleum.
When discarded, they can take hundreds of years to decompose.

Tuldukan: Silver Cleaner Poisoning

“Niloko ng boyfriend, dalagita naglason,” “tomboy lumaklak ng silver
cleaner, todas,” “dalaga binawalang magcellphone, nagsuicide,” “rising
suicides involving silver cleaner alarm cops,” “saleslady lumaklak ng
silver cleaner, dedo,” “tinedyer na babae, nagpakamatay,” “ginang
tigbak sa nilaklak na silver cleaner,” “toddler dies of silver cleaner
intake,” “binata tumungga ng lason,” “isang basong lason ininom ng
baby”...

Ilan lamang ang mga ito sa mga kahindik-hindik na balita sa mga
peryodiko nitong mga nakaraang buwan tungkol sa mga Pilipinong
naglason gamit ang silver cleaner na may cyanide o aksidenteng nalason
dahil sa pag-aakalang inuming tubig ito.

Ang cyanide ay isa sa pinakamabagsik na lason na lubhang mapanganib sa
tao at mga lamang dagat kahit na sa mababang konsentrasyon lamang. Ito
ay maaaring makamatay kung malunok, malanghap o masipsip ng balat.

1997 pa lang ay naglabas na ng Chemical Control Order (CCO) ang
Kagawaran ng Kalikasan at Likas Yaman (DENR) upang kontrolin ang
paggamit ng cyanide at mga cyanide compound sa mga piling gawaing
industriyal lamang. Hindi kasama sa “allowable use” ang paggamit nito
bilang sangkap sa panglinis ng mga alahas ng pilak.

Bagamat malinaw ang pagbabawal sa ilalim ng CCO ay naging laganap
nitong mga nakaraang taon ang iligal na pagtitinda ng mga silver
cleaner na may cyanide. May mga nanamantala at marami na ang
napahamak at namatay.

Halimbawa, naitala ng UP National Poison Management and Control Center
(UPNPMCC) ang 235 kaso ng pagkalason mula sa silver cleaner noong
2009; 11 dito ang namatay (3 matanda at 8 bata). Mula Enero hanggang
Hunyo 2010, 9 na ang namatay (4 matanda at 5 bata).

Noong 2005, 93% ang "accidental" at 7% ang "non-accidental" na
pagkalason sa silver jewelry cleaner. Pero ngayon ay iba na: 86% ang
"non-accidental" at 14% ang "accidental," ayon sa UPNPMCC. Mas marami
ngayon ang nagpapatiwakal gamit ito.

Paano tutuldukan ang mga malalagim na istatistika? Paano ipaglalaban
ang kalusugan at kaligtasan ng mamamayan laban sa cyanide?

Noong nakaraang Martes, Agosto 17, ay nagpatawag ng “focus group
discussion” tungkol sa isyung ito si Atty. Miguel Cuna, direktor ng
Environmental Management Bureau (EMB), na nilahukan ng mga kinatawan
mula sa iba’t ibang ahensya ng pamahalaan, mula sa kapulisan, mula sa
industriya at mula sa EcoWaste Coalition, GAIA at Mother Earth
Foundation.

Inilatag ni Dr. Lynn Panganiban ng UPNPMCC ang ilang rekomendasyon
upang masugpo ang problema. Pinakamahalaga sa kanyang mga mungkahi
ang pag-kontrol sa panganib sa mismong pinagmulan nito.
Nangangahulugan ito ng tahasang pagbabawal (ban), paghihigpit
(restrict) at pagbubukod (isolate) sa ugat ng pagkalason.

Ang pag-asa kong pagtitibayin ang isang “Oplan Silver Cleaner” ay
naglaho matapos ang madamdaming balitaktakan kung sino ang dapat
mamumuno sa kampanya na tila inuurungan ng DENR. Malinaw na kailangan
ang pagtutulungan ng iba’t ibang ahensya at sektor pero kailangang may
manguna at mamuno, magtitimon at magbibigay ng inspirasyon at
direksyon.

Nakapagtataka na tila kailangan pang ipagtulakan ang DENR-EMB upang
pangunahan at pamunuan ang krusada laban sa lasong silver cleaner na
kumitil at kikitil pa ng maraming buhay.

Kung batid ng DENR na buhay ang kapalit sa patuloy na pagbaha sa
merkado ng cyanide ay kailangan pa bang himukin at suyuin ang DENR na
kumilos? Patayan na ito, magtuturuan pa ba tayo?

Sino ang magpapasimuno sa “Oplan Silver Cleaner”? Kung hindi DENR-EMB, sino?

Toxic toy story sparks major scare

Supermarkets and major retailers in Singapore are scrambling to recall
more toys after a national survey revealed that half of 50 toys
available on shelves contained chemicals which can be harmful to
children.

The survey done by the Consumers Association of Singapore (Case)
revealed on Monday that 23 out of the 50 toys tested were found to
contain excessive amounts of lead and phthalates, a chemical commonly
added to plastics to increase durability and flexibility.

All of the toxic toys were made in China, and some even had the “CE”
mark, a label signifying it conformed to European Union safe product
requirements.

Excessive lead levels in children can potentially harm the nervous
system and kidneys and affect speech, hearing and language learning,
while phthalates may disrupt natural hormone levels and affect
development.

The Straits Times reports that the findings have sparked off a chain
reaction from Singapore retailers who are pulling off toys from their
shelves in question. It has also prompted retailers to do more checks
on imported toys in their stores.

Supermarket and department store chains, FairPrice and Giant, said
that they will now work with respective suppliers on ways to improve
checks on the toys sold in their outlets. Giant, in addition, plans to
conduct a review of its products.

Giant toy store Toys ‘R’ Us has recalled two items being sold — a 20cm
Toys ‘R’ Us-branded doll dress in sportswear, and a girls’ accessories
set by Boley.

Local retail chain Minitoons, has withdrawn two toys identified as
toxic and three others from the same product ranges which are also
currently being tested.

The toxic toys are either soft, flexible toys shaped like egg tarts or
soft toy keychains that look like tofu. A total of 1,000 toys have
been recalled from 16 Minitoons outlets.

Minitoons assistant general manager, Mr Andrew Ang , told The Straits
Times that about 500 of those toys have been sold. He said his
company, which orders its stocks from China, rarely tests its products
as it believes that the suppliers would comply with China’s safety
standards.

Other toy retailers are adopting a “wait and see” game.

Tai Sing and Megcorp, which imports some of the toxic toys, say that
they do not intend to conduct checks while Megcorp will continue to
rely on reputable factories instead.

Tai Sing’s director A.K. Wong, said, “It’s not within our
jurisdiction. I don’t agree (with Case that) it’s our responsibility.
We are not a manufacturer; we are just an importer.”

Still, the company will look to the Government and Case for advice on
the next necessary steps.

This is not the first time made-in-China toys have been found to
contain toxic materials.

Two years ago, toy maker Mattel had to recall 9 million Chinese-made
toys, including popular Barbie, Polly Pocket and “Cars” movie items
due to the presence of lead paint and tiny magnets that could be
swallowed.

Thank you for the incredible, amazing response to Yahoo!’s Fit-To-Post
blog so far. We continue to welcome your views and comments but please
don’t abuse this opportunity. Be nice. Be courteous. Be sensible.
Respect the feelings of others and refrain from using any kind of
offensive language.

Green groups rally vs. silver cleaners

RECORDED fatalities from silver cleaning agents have prompted a
network of environmental groups to lobby for “an all-out campaign to
purge the market of highly poisonous silver cleaners containing
cyanide and other toxic chemicals.” Figures from the University of the
Philippines (up)-National Poison Management and Control Center showed
that they handled 353 cases of poisoning from silver cleaners from
last year to June 2010.

In 2009, 11 deaths were recorded, eight of which involved children.

From January to June this year, nine deaths were recorded. Five were
pediatric cases and four involved adults.

On July, a 1-year-old baby girl from Paco, Manila, was reported to
have died after accidentally drinking water laced with silver cleaner.

The recorded fatalities prompted environmental groups Mother Earth
Foundation (MEF), EcoWaste
Coalition and Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA) to
urge the government to stop the sale of the silver cleaner.

Notorious toxicant

The groups said that information from the UP Poison Center and the
Poison Control Unit of East Avenue Medical Center in Quezon City
showed that silver cleaning agents have become “one of the top three
toxicants among patients admitted during the past two years in these
major public hospitals.”

“Silver cleaners containing sodium or potassium cyanide salts and
other toxic substances continue to cause preventable mortalities among
young children who mistook them for water, and adults who purposely
drank them to commit suicide,” said Sonia Mendoza, the chairman of MEF
and a retired chemist.

In a letter sent Monday to Director Juan Miguel Cuna of the
Environmental Management Bureau (EMB), the network of environmental
groups proposed to launch “Oplan Silver Cleaner,” which aims to
protect human health and the ecosytems from the harms caused by
exposure to toxic chemicals.

“Through ‘Oplan Silver Cleaner,’ we hope to terminate this string of
gruesome injuries and deaths from cyanide poisoning that have brought
untold suffering and pain to the victims and their families. This
should also lead to popularizing non-toxic alternatives to polish
tarnished silver jewelry,” said Manny Calonzo, co-coordinator of GAIA.

The groups’ initiative came a month after the Department of Health
released an advisory, which stated that cyanide found in most silver
cleaning solutions is categorized as a poisonous substance that may
cause serious injury, if not death, to people.

“Poisoning with silver jewelry cleaner is a life-threatening condition
and should be treated in the hospital as a medical emergency,” the
Health department said.

Cyanide, being rapidly absorbed in the body, binds easily with red
blood cells, depriving the body of oxygen. The chemical has been used
in illegal fishing to stun fish.

In 1997, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, the
mother agency of the EMB, issued a “Chemical Control Order [CCO] for
cyanide and cyanide compounds” to control the use and dispersal of the
chemical into the environment and avoid adverse consequences.

Cyanide and cyanide compounds are highly toxic to humans and aquatic
life even at low concentrations, according to the CCO.

Hazardous trash found in Brazil port

A container holding 22 tons of toxic trash that was allegedly shipped illegally and arrived through Germany has been discovered in a southern Brazilian port, environmental officials said Tuesday.

A statement from the enforcement arm of Brazil's Environment Ministry, Ibama, indicated the container was supposed to have only clean plastic meant for recycling. Instead, inspectors found dirty cleaning product containers, soiled diapers and "contaminated residues."

The Korean company responsible for transporting the container -- Hanjin Shipping -- was fined $852,000, and the Brazilian recycler was fined $227,000.

Calls to Hanjin Shipping's office in Sao Paulo rang unanswered, while Daniel Marcon, president of recycler Recoplast Recuperacao e Comercio de Plastico, said he will appeal because he thought he was only ordering clean plastics.

The container was found Aug. 3 in a port in Rio Grande. Ibama said the shipping company has until Aug. 26 to return the trash to Germany.

Ibama said it was originally from the Czech Republic and arrived via Hamburg, shipped by Hong Kong-based exporter Dashan.

Under the 1989 Basel Convention, which both Brazil and Germany have signed, it is illegal to export waste for disposal but fine to send it abroad for recycling.

"The noncompliance of international treaties (on shipping hazardous trash) is an affront to signatory nations and, in this case, disrespectful to Brazil and Brazilian society in its effort to maintain a healthy environment for the common good," said Abelardo Bayma, president of Ibama.

Last year, inspectors discovered more than 1,400 tons of toxic trash shipped in 89 containers to three Brazilian ports. That waste was also labeled as recyclable plastic.

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

e-Waste concerns re-echoes at clean environment forum

Even with the Basel Convention prohibiting International waste transfer, the dumping of e-waste into the Nigerian market and the rest of the African sub-region has continued to grow in geometric progression attracting both national and international regulatory authorities.

While hundreds of containers stuffed with used PCs, e-gadgets and their accessories have continued be shipped to African continents, especially, Nigeria as a result of their high demand, the ugly trend has continued to worry both the government, the regulatory authorities and the end users because of its health and economic implications.
But henceforth, it may not be business as usual again as the Nigerian National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency under the Ministry of Environment, (NESREA) will soon come up with tough regulation on e-waste management in the Nigerian market.

At the just concluded national conference on ICT and the Nigerian environment organized by the AIT Infotech Network, eWorld Magazine and IT. EgdeNews, Dr Lawrence Anukam, a Director at the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA) who represented the DG of NESREA told Vanguard CyberLIFE in an exclusive interview that the agency will soon come up with tough regulations to ensure effective environmental governance through compliance monitoring and enforcement of environmental laws, standards and regulations regarding e-waste management.

Major exporting countries to Nigeria include, he said will include European Union - 45%; United States of America – 45%, adding that the remaining 10% from other locations such as Japan, Italy, Belgium, Finland, Germany, Korea, Netherlands, Norway, Singapore.

“The honorable minister will sign it into law. The technical aspect is almost concluded It is a participatory process where all stakeholders will make an input. We cannot continue like this. Something has to be done to make our environment clean” he said.

Earlier in his presentation, he disclosed that Waste Electronic/Electrical Equipment (WEEE) or e-wastes include those unwanted, obsolete or unusable electronic products such as computers, computer peripherals, televisions, VCRs, DVD Players, stereo equipment, cell phones, microwave ovens, among others.

NESREA, in collaboration with the Consumer Protection Council (CPC) and the Standard Organization of Nigeria (SON), according to him, had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Alaba International Market Amalgamated Traders Association (AIMATA) to check cases of sub-standard quality, counterfeiting and dumping of near-end-of-life and end-of-life electrical and electronic appliances into Nigeria.

“NESREA is coordinating the national implementation of the Toxic Waste Dump Watch Programme to monitor and control illegal dumping of toxic and hazardous wastes in Nigeria;

NESREA acts decisively and timely on reception of alerts from the international community regarding illegal shipment and dumping of hazardous wastes in Nigeria, and provides leadership in tracking, intercepting and arresting vessels carrying such consignment.

“NESREA organized an International Conference on E-Waste Control in Abuja from 20th -21st July, 2009. The communiqué of the Conference is called the “Abuja Platform on E-Waste”. It contains concrete observations and recommendations for charting a new course in e-waste control and has formed part of global template on addressing e-waste issues
“NESREA is the new institutional mechanism created by the Federal Government of Nigeria to ensure effective environmental governance through compliance monitoring

“As a result of the remarkable growth in information and communication technology (ICT), combined with the phenomenon of rapid product obsolescence, e-waste is now recognized as the fastest growing waste stream.
“E-waste is hazardous because it contains many different substances including toxic heavy metals (Lead, Mercury, Nickel, Cadmium etc) and organics (PCBs and Brominated flame retardants) which create serious environmental pollution and human health problems if not properly handled” he said.

EPA Chief cites the e-Waste Problem as one of the US’s 6 Global Environmental Priorities

EPA Chief Administrator Lisa Jackson declared yesterday that preventing e-waste and its irresponsible management was one of the US Environmental Protection Agency’s top six newly announced global priorities. The other five priorities were reducing carbon emissions, improving air quality, improving water quality, reducing toxics exposures and building stronger institutional frameworks. Her comments came at yesterday evening’s public reception to launch the 17th Session of the Commission on Environmental Cooperation, a body created with the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) to mitigate environmental impacts of trade between Canada, Mexico and the United States.

“We applaud the EPA and Lisa Jackson on her recognition that the toxic threat of e-waste is one of the most serious environmental concerns of our time,” said Jim Puckett, Executive Director of the Basel Action Network, who attended the session. “The amounts of e-waste we are creating is staggering, and then the practice of sweeping the techno-trash out the back door to developing countries is shameful.”

According to BAN, the first order of business is to pass legislation banning the export of this new form of toxic waste. Secondly, the environmentalists call for all manufacturers to set a date for becoming toxic free and refusing to ever again use toxic inputs.

Jackson’s announcement comes on the heels of a formal recognition by the EPA of the e-Stewards® Certification for electronics recyclers. E-Stewards is the only certification for e-waste recyclers that is consistent with international law and forbids the most egregious current practices of electronics recyclers such as exporting toxic e-waste to developing countries, using prison labor, and dumping toxics in municipal landfills. The e-Stewards Certification is also the only such program with the backing of over 70 environmental organizations and major companies like Bank of America, Wells Fargo and Samsung.

“We are excited and relieved that, eight years from the time BAN first showed the world pictures of the devastation in China from US e-waste exports, it is beginning to look like we as a nation are finally resolved to take responsibility and solve this crisis,” observes Puckett.

USA: Hazardous e-waste regulation without export ban?

Electronic waste is exported from the U.S. to developing countries by the majority of so-called recyclers, to be bashed, burned and melted down in unsafe conditions in developing countries, such as China, India, Nigeria and Ghana. Eighty percent of children in Guiyu, China, a region where many “recycled” electronics wind up, have elevated levels of lead in their blood, due to the toxins in those electronics, much of which originates in the U.S.

The Basel Convention is an international treaty that governs trade in toxic waste. The U.S. signed the Basel Convention, but has never ratified it, and would need implementing legislation to do so. But ratifying the Convention alone, as recommended by the GAO report, would not stop U.S. e-waste exports to developing nations – and ironically would legalize that unscrupulous trade which is currently illegal under international law. There is a separate amendment to the Basel Convention, called the Basel Ban Amendment, which bans developed nations from sending hazardous waste to developing nations. Countries must ratify the agreement separately from the rest of the Convention. Already 69 countries including a majority of those the ban applies to, have ratified the amendment.

The recommendation by the GAO report makes no mention of the Ban Amendment. If the U.S. were to ratify the Basel Convention, without the Ban Amendment or other legislation to make e-waste exports illegal, then in fact we would be making it easier, not harder, for recyclers to legally dump e-waste in developing nations. Currently, most developed countries cannot legally accept shipments from the U.S. because the treaty forbids Basel Parties from trading with non-Basel Parties such as the U.S. If the U.S. ratifies the Basel Convention, without simultaneously ratifying the Basel Ban Amendment, exports that are currently illegal would become legal.

For this reason, the Electronics TakeBack Campaign and the Basel Action Network support legislation banning hazardous electronic waste as the first step, and after that is in place proceeding with ratifying the entire Basel package – the Convention with the Ban Amendment.

“Implementing the Basel Convention by itself will do more to legitimize shipments of electronic waste then it will to prohibit them,” said Jim Puckett, Executive Director of the Basel Action Network. “The Administration must first ensure that a ban on exports to developing countries for hazardous wastes such as electronic waste is firmly in place as Basel alone could open the flood gates even wider.”

Younger Canadians have more BPA in their bodies than parents: Study

Canadian children and teenagers have higher levels of bisphenol A in their urine than their parents and grandparents, according to the government's first-ever national survey on the exposure of chemicals — which also found that nearly all Canadians have the estrogen-mimicking toxin in their bodies.

The Statistics Canada study, conducted in partnership with Health Canada, found that nine out of 10 Canadians aged six to 79, or 91 per cent of the population, have BPA in their urine. But young people aged 12 to 19 had an average level of 1.50 parts per billion — higher than the overall average of 1.16 parts per billion.

Younger children also brought up the national average (1.30 ppb), while their parents (ages 40 to 59) and their grandparents (ages 60 to 79) had lower levels of the toxin (1.04 and 0.90 ppb respectively) in their urine.

Given how quickly BPA can be flushed from the body and the high frequency of detection, "these data suggest continual and widespread exposure of BPA," states the report, released Monday.

Bisphenol A can leach into food from the protective epoxy resin coatings of canned foods or beverages and from such consumer products as polycarbonate tableware, plastic food storage containers and reusable hard plastic bottles.

Lead author Tracey Bushnik, of Statistics Canada's health analysis division, said the study could not determine why young Canadians have higher levels of BPA in their urine, but suggested a combination of forces could be at work.

"Children have a different physiology compared to adults. For example, how they absorb or distribute or metabolize or excrete BPA could be different," said Bushnik. "How they're using products containing BPA (or) how many products containing BPA they could be using, that could be another factor."

The report said it can't make a finding on safety because the government has yet to establish a level of BPA in urine that would be of concern — although Health Canada has a safe intake level for the substance.

"Although BPA may constitute a health risk, no guidance values are currently available in Canada for urinary BPA," states the technical report on the first cycle of the Canadian Health Measures Survey, an ongoing probe of approximately 5,600 Canadians aged six to 79 involving home interviews and physical tests.

Reproductive toxicity — including effects on fertility and development — has been identified as a key health effect of exposure to high concentrations of BPA, a recognized endocrine disrupter.

The U.S. government's national toxicology program, meanwhile, has concluded it has "some concern for effects on the brain, behaviour and prostate gland in fetuses, infants and children at current human exposures to bisphenol A."

The American Chemistry Council, which recently set back in its bid to block Ottawa from listing BPA as a toxic substance in Canadian law, was quick to characterize the results as "very reassuring," saying the typical level of BPA found in urine corresponds to an intake that is approximately 1,000 times below the safe intake level set by Health Canada for all age groups — including children and teenagers.

But consumer advocacy groups read the results differently, saying they illustrate why Canada's 2008 ban of BPA in plastic baby bottles needs to be extended to other products, including tin cans for food and drinks.

"I don't care what kind of outdated, half-baked argument the industry tries to muster today. There's no way they can explain away any level of a hormonally active chemical in nine out of 10 Canadians. It's just not possible," said Rick Smith, executive director of Environmental Defence.

"The reality is that the best available science points to the fact that there is no safe level of BPA — that any amount of BPA has some biological effect, as you would expect from a hormonally active chemical."

He added that the BPA "trend line" is moving in the wrong direction.

"Kids have higher BPA levels in their bodies than the parents and grandparents do. And that means that the kind of leadership the Canadian government has undertaken on BPA needs to continue. What we need to see is BPA banned and regulated in the other areas where it's present in our daily lives."

A spokesman for Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq declined to say whether she was concerned about the results, but said the government "will continue to take action where needed."

The survey also tested for lead levels in the blood of Canadians. Lead was detected in 100 per cent of the population, but concentrations have fallen dramatically in the past 30 years and now stand below levels that would require intervention for more than 99 per cent of the population.

Thirty years ago, more than one in four Canadians — or about 27 per cent — had blood-lead concentrations at or above the intervention level, set at 10 micrograms per decilitre. Today, the average is 1.34 micrograms per decilitre.

Unlike the case with BPA, the survey shows that older Canadians have the highest levels of lead in their blood.

"The lead and BPA results are a study in contrasts," said Smith. "It confirms the good news about lead. When governments get their act together and regulate these kinds of chemicals, you see important public health benefits."

Message to P-Noy: Please protect breast milk

President Noynoy Aquino, please listen to this plea from child,
maternal, and environmental health advocates: Do enforce the strongest
pollution prevention laws to protect breast milk, the best food for
babies, bar none, from chemical contaminants.

The collective frantic cry for help comes from the Arugaan/Save Babies
Coalition, the EcoWaste Coalition, and the Global Alliance for
Incinerator Alternatives, to coincide with the release of the report
“Mother Earth, Mother’s Milk, Mothers’ Stories: Breastfeeding in a
Chemically Contaminated World” at the 18th session of the Commission
on Sustainable Development held recently in New York City to address
issues concerning toxic chemicals.

The report contains the results of a recent bio-monitoring project
that tested the breast milk of five first-time mothers from Alaska,
Czech Republic, Kenya, Mexico, and the Philippines for levels of
persistent organic pollutants (POPs). POPs, which stay in the
environment and in humans for long periods of time, have been linked
to serious ailments like asthma, learning and developmental
disabilities, birth defects, diabetes, greater susceptibility to some
infectious diseases, infertility, and cancers.

Through bio-monitoring, amounts of chemical substances or their
breakdown products in human tissues or fluids can be identified and
measured.

The bio-monitoring results show that all the five participating
mothers had quantifiable concentrations of six major organochlorine
pesticides or their by-products.

All of them had quantifiable levels of polybrominated diphenyl ethers
(PBDEs), which are flame retardants commonly used in airplanes,
building materials, electronics, furnishings, motor vehicles,
plastics, polyurethane foams, and textiles.

Participating mom Mary Ann Lantin of Batangas stoutly asserts, “The
government has a big responsibility to ensure that breastfeeding
flourishes and that breast milk is protected from contamination.”

The feisty mom gave out breast milk samples to rally support for
breastfeeding and raise awareness about toxic chemical body burdens
and the need for stronger and more comprehensive regulation to stop
the production and use of harmful personal pollution chemicals.

Once more with much more feeling: “Breast milk, even when it contains
industrial chemicals, remains the best food for babies, as affirmed by
many scientific studies. Studies indicate that breast milk may reverse
damage that may have occurred during critical periods of development
in utero from toxic chemical exposures. Breastfeeding is even more
important for the health of the baby, given the chemically
contaminated world we all inhabit, and into which the baby is born”
declares Sharyle Patton of Commonweal, the California-based group that
coordinated the bio-monitoring project.

Here’s to P-Noy, says Manny Calonzo of the Global Alliance for
Incinerator Alternatives, “We urge the Aquino administration to pay
close attention to the right of every Filipino baby to be breastfed
and further ask the President to ensure a safe and non-toxic
environment for all by taking action against toxic chemicals that pose
hazards to human health and the environment.”

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Accomplishments

For the last 12 years, MEF have been instrumental in the establishment of over 1,000 Materials Recovery Facilities (MRF) in the country. This was achieved by conducting workshops and seminars to over 2,500 barangays, 100 Cities and Municipalities, and hundreds more from the academe, NGO’s, government agencies, religious organizations and private sectors. A total of more than 130,000 people – from Mayors, Barangay Captains, Church and community leaders, government agencies and academes and even to students and housewives attended the workshops and seminars.

In the 23rd Southeast Asian Games, MEF played an active role in implementing a waste prevention and recycling program geared at making the event more earth friendly.

Recently, the Provincial Government of Northern Samar declared zero waste management (ZWM) as its framework and long term goal for the province thus becoming the first province to have a province wide Zero Waste Management Plan.

The MEF Board and Trainers are conducting more workshops all over the country.

Projects

We conduct workshops on ecological waste management to the different sectors of society - barangays, cities, schools, church organizations, government offices, private offices, civic organizations and business establishments.

Our goals for the workshops are:

• Education and awareness of the people on environment protection and proper waste management, reduction of waste, segregation at source composting and recycling towards a zero waste society.

• Decentralization of waste management through the establishment of a Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) in every barangay or in a cluster of barangays and in schools, offices, churches, and business establishments. A MRF must have a composting area and a small warehouse to temporary store the clean recyclables. The clean recyclables are sold to the junk shops for ultimate sale to the factories. These MRFs, because they are such in small scales, are not capital intensive as differentiated from MRFs in industrialized countries. No expensive and highly technical equipment are needed.

People

With members and volunteers nationwide, brought together by the common aspiration of harnessing collective energy towards healing and renewing the planet, MEF’s Board of Directors and Officers is led by former NGO Commissioner of the National Solid Waste Management Commission Sonia Mendoza, (Chairman); Environmental educator and consultant Froilan Grate (President), Businesswoman Estelita Reyes (Vice President), and businesswoman Diana Barcelona (Treasurer).

Other officers include corporate lawyer Alonzo Ancheta (Corporate Counsel), Professor Arlen Ancheta (Corporate Secretary), Professor Junie Quilatan (Trustee), businesswomen Tootsie Moreno-Vicente (Trustee) and Molly Kraut (Trustee). Founding Chairman is businesswoman and civic leader Teresita Choa.

The MEF staff is headed by Zen Bolongan (Program Coordinator), Koni Cinco (Admin and Research Assistant) Mercy Sumilang (Trainer), Tin Gonzales (Support Staff), JC Navalta (Project Assistant), Raphael Villavicencio (Community Coordinator), Maan Mayo (Community Coordinator) and Chloe Durif (Intern).

Contact Us

Tel: 02 9253829
Fax: 02 4345381
Cell: 0917 5560803

www.motherearth.ph
email@motherearth.ph

59 C. Salvador St. Loyola Heights, Quezon City

ABOUT US

Mother Earth Foundation (MEF) is an NGO of men and women from the Philippines who seek to raise the level of public awareness on environmental issues and mobilize people to act positively on the resolution of these issues.

Mother Earth is an active member of Eco Waste Coalition, GAIA (Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives), PNCC (Philippine Network for Climate Change), Partnership for Clean Air, ZWIA (Zero Waste International Alliance)and IPEN (International POPs Elimination Network). MEF lobbied for the passage of the Clean Air Act and the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act. We were instrumental in changing the title from “Integrated” to “Ecological”.

Mother Earth is also an active member of the Northern Samar Coalition for Alleviation of Poverty, a multi sectoral partnership formed to address specific issues faced by the people of Northern Samar.

We believe that the highest ethics is the common good. No town is too far to reach, no group too small to teach. For us, glocalization is the name of the game – a global perspective, with a firm reality check when the vision is translated into action. We work to propagate the knowledge, through a vision that is as high, as far and as wide as can be, coupled with work that is as local as can be.