DOH-led body OKs Bangkal clean-up plan

Health Secretary Enrique Ona

The government’s Inter-Agency Committee on Environmental Health (IACEH) has approved the First Philippine Industrial Corp.’s proposed system for the recovery and treatment of petroleum leakage from its pipeline, which affected the West Tower condominium and nearby areas in Barangay (village) Bangkal, Makati City.

In a resolution issued dated October 14 and signed by Health Secretary Enrique Ona, IACEH chairman, the committee approved the multiphase extraction (MPE) technology that FPIC intends to use for its remediation efforts in West Tower and Barangay Bangkal, noting that the technology passed the environmental technology verification (ETV) of the Department of Science and Technology’s Industrial Technology Development Institute (DOST-ITDI).

In a statement, FPIC said ITDI director Nuna Almanzor endorsed the MPE

technology in its report to the inter-agency committee.

“The performance of the [proposed remediation] technology has been proven and verified by the United States Environmental Protection Agency. The technology has been applied for remediation of various contaminated sites in the US for many years with satisfactory results. On the basis of the performance of the technology, their track record has been established,” she said.

The ETV review on the technology was conducted by the DOST on the request of the committee, which said “the goal of an ETV review as part of the remediation technologies of the US Environmental Protection Agency (Usepa) is to verify the performance of innovative technologies that have the potential to improve protection of human health and the environment.

No law in PH

The Philippines has no specific legislation and standards governing the remediation of contaminated sites, which is why the IACEH has adopted the standards of the Usepa.

Composed of representatives from the Departments of Environment and Natural Resources, of Energy and of Health, and the Makati City goverment, the IACEH task force is mandated to ensure that the environmental remediation or removal of contaminants from Bangkal’s affected areas will be successfully implemented.

“We are glad the IACEH has approved our remediation efforts and our

remediation technology. We thank all the concerned government agencies, including the Makati City government, for the support and guidance they have been extending in our restoration activities in the barangay. Their help has been invaluable. Rest assured, we will continue to do our best to complete the restoration of Bangkal,” FPIC president Tony Mabasa said.

Mabasa said the MPE technology is the more permanent solution to the cleanup of Bangkal to address any long-term health risks for residents in the area.