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Greenpeace blocks pipe from toxic chemicals company, demands full disclosure of chemicals harming communities and environment
October 30, 2009
Greenpeace Water Patrol activists examine contaminated sediments beneath the wastewater discharge pipe of hazardous waste treatment company Cleanway Technology Corporation (CTC) in Silang, Cavite, around 55 kilometers South of Manila, prior to plugging the pipe itself.
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Wearing protective suits and masks, Greenpeace volunteers collected samples of effluents from a wastewater discharge pipe of hazardous waste treatment company, Cleanway Technology Corporation. After taking the samples, the volunteers plugged the pipe and attached a sign saying “Stop Toxic Chemicals!” by the pipe. The discharge pipe empties directly into a small creek that flows through nearby communities and into freshwater springs in the vicinity, before
joining tributaries to Laguna Lake. Water Patrol activists also obtained samples of water from the spring, as well as from contaminated soil. They then proceeded to the gate of the Cleanway facility calling for its president, Crispino de Castro, Jr., to personally receive the letter of demands and to face the questions from the public.
Up to now, more than two weeks after the first of four reported poison leaks, Cleanway has yet to disclose what chemicals, and in what quantities, have spilled out to the environment due to their operations. Also, none of the government probes that were initiated after the first leak have yielded definite results. Greenpeace is demanding that government pursue an investigation by independent laboratories. However, Greenpeace is ready to conduct its own tests at the Greenpeace Research Laboratories at the University of Exeter in England.
“Communities around this hazardous waste facility are being poisoned by chemicals from Cleanway. No one knows—or more correctly, no one wants to reveal—exactly what is harming people’s lives. Greenpeace is demanding full disclosure of these chemicals from Cleanway, as well as full cooperation from the company in the investigation of the case. Cleanway should be held accountable for damage inflicted on human health and on the environment. They should be held responsible for the clean up of contamination,” said Beau Baconguis, Greenpeace Southeast Asia Toxics Campaigner.
Cleanway, located in Meridian Industrial Park in Silang, Cavite, is a hazardous waste treatment plant owned and operated by the Herma Group of Companies. The facility is licensed to treat medical and hazardous wastes. Members of nearby communities have observed foul chemical odors coming from the plant. These were observed to be strongest during chemical leaks which occurred on October 14, 24, 26 and 27. A total of seventy people exhibited symptoms of vomiting, nosebleeding, fainting, and dizziness. Several victims, including nine severe cases, are currently still confined, awaiting further toxicological tests at the Philippine General Hospital. Identification of the
pollutant is crucial for treatment of the victims.
Silang Mayor Clarito Poblete issued a cease and desist order on October 16, which padlocked the company’s wastewater treatment plant. At present, the company continues to operate and process hazardous wastes while its wastewater treatment plant is disabled. Aside from non-disclosure of the toxic chemicals, the company has not made public if it has indeed taken steps to prevent further damage, and to improve operations in the future.
“The public is also in the dark about government response to the chemical leak. The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has yet to give full information on what measures have been undertaken. People are not being told about the results of investigations, nor of Cleanway’s environmental compliance submissions. Locals are currently picketing in front of the company,
but no one has come out to meet them and tell them how the problems caused by Cleanway are being addressed,” said Eloisa Tolentino of the Cavite Green Coalition.
“This complacency on the part of Cleanway and DENR on this poison leak is inexcusable. Both should be held accountable for the incidents of chemical leaks. Despite Cleanway’s claims to environmetal protection in the treatment of hazardous waste, and despite DENR’s ‘monitoring’ of such facilities, there is no escaping the fact that toxic wastes will always remain toxic. This underlines clearly that safeguarding water, the environment and especially human health depends on clean production: a system that focuses on prevention by cleaning up production processes on the front end rather than containing, disguising, or diluting toxic chemicals. It is time that serious solutions are enforced,” added Baconguis.
Up to now, more than two weeks after the first of four reported poison leaks, Cleanway has yet to disclose what chemicals, and in what quantities, have spilled out to the environment due to their operations. Also, none of the government probes that were initiated after the first leak have yielded definite results. Greenpeace is demanding that government pursue an investigation by independent laboratories. However, Greenpeace is ready to conduct its own tests at the Greenpeace Research Laboratories at the University of Exeter in England.
“Communities around this hazardous waste facility are being poisoned by chemicals from Cleanway. No one knows—or more correctly, no one wants to reveal—exactly what is harming people’s lives. Greenpeace is demanding full disclosure of these chemicals from Cleanway, as well as full cooperation from the company in the investigation of the case. Cleanway should be held accountable for damage inflicted on human health and on the environment. They should be held responsible for the clean up of contamination,” said Beau Baconguis, Greenpeace Southeast Asia Toxics Campaigner.
Cleanway, located in Meridian Industrial Park in Silang, Cavite, is a hazardous waste treatment plant owned and operated by the Herma Group of Companies. The facility is licensed to treat medical and hazardous wastes. Members of nearby communities have observed foul chemical odors coming from the plant. These were observed to be strongest during chemical leaks which occurred on October 14, 24, 26 and 27. A total of seventy people exhibited symptoms of vomiting, nosebleeding, fainting, and dizziness. Several victims, including nine severe cases, are currently still confined, awaiting further toxicological tests at the Philippine General Hospital. Identification of the
pollutant is crucial for treatment of the victims.
Silang Mayor Clarito Poblete issued a cease and desist order on October 16, which padlocked the company’s wastewater treatment plant. At present, the company continues to operate and process hazardous wastes while its wastewater treatment plant is disabled. Aside from non-disclosure of the toxic chemicals, the company has not made public if it has indeed taken steps to prevent further damage, and to improve operations in the future.
“The public is also in the dark about government response to the chemical leak. The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has yet to give full information on what measures have been undertaken. People are not being told about the results of investigations, nor of Cleanway’s environmental compliance submissions. Locals are currently picketing in front of the company,
but no one has come out to meet them and tell them how the problems caused by Cleanway are being addressed,” said Eloisa Tolentino of the Cavite Green Coalition.
“This complacency on the part of Cleanway and DENR on this poison leak is inexcusable. Both should be held accountable for the incidents of chemical leaks. Despite Cleanway’s claims to environmetal protection in the treatment of hazardous waste, and despite DENR’s ‘monitoring’ of such facilities, there is no escaping the fact that toxic wastes will always remain toxic. This underlines clearly that safeguarding water, the environment and especially human health depends on clean production: a system that focuses on prevention by cleaning up production processes on the front end rather than containing, disguising, or diluting toxic chemicals. It is time that serious solutions are enforced,” added Baconguis.
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