LUCENA CITY, Philippines—A concerned official on Thursday allayed fears that at least 10,000 liters of diesel that had accidentally leaked at the National Power Corp. plant in the island town of Polilio in Quezon province Tuesday seriously damaged a mangrove.
The spill reached the mangrove area near the plant located in the village of Tamulaya, according to Henry Buzar, coordinator of Quezon Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council.
“But the spilled fuels did not cause serious damage to the mangrove. The situation is now under control,” Buzar said over the phone.
He said most of the spilled fuels were trapped in several deep holes around the perimeters of the plant.
Senior Police Officer 2 Sherwin Ricarte Ruiz, Polilio police investigator, an opened drain gate valve of the fuel tank caused the spillage.
Ruiz said the spillage at the Polillo power plant that lasted for five hours started 1:30 a.m. Tuesday and lasted until 6:40 a.m.
Police said the three plant technicians and one security guard on duty denied responsibility for the accidental spill but could not point to anyone who could have left the valve open.
Police was still conducting investigation to identify who is responsible for the negligence. With Frances Mangosing of INQUIRER.net
Originally posted: 11:00 am | Thursday, April 5th, 2012