More tests on mine spill effect on Pangasinan sought

EMPLOYEES of Philex Mining Corp. release bags of tilapia and other types of fish at Balog Creek in Itogon, Benguet, which was affected by the tailings-leak accident in August last year. RICHARD BALONGLONG/INQUIRER NORTHERN LUZON

SAN MANUEL, Pangasinan—Without the San Roque Dam here, sediments that were let loose by a breached tailings pond of Philex Mining Corp. (Philex) in Itogon, Benguet, could have gone downstream of the Agno River and wreaked havoc on Pangasinan farms.

But a big part of the 20 million metric tons of mine waste, which found its way into the Agno River through the Balog Creek in Itogon, was deposited instead at the reservoir of the San Roque Dam.

“It’s good the dam is there,” said Tom Valdez, vice president for corporate social responsibility of San Roque Power Corp.

But environmentalist Nicanor Melecio expressed doubt that the mine tailings spill did not pose danger to Pangasinan residents, especially those in communities along the Agno River.

“We cannot just take this and wish for everything that’s good. Rather, we should take it from a risk management viewpoint,” Melecio said.

“What are its consequences in terms of human risk, health, destruction of productive vegetation along the river and destruction of species that are living in the river?” he said.

Melecio is member of a group that acting Dagupan City Mayor Belen Fernandez had formed to study the impact of the tailings spill on the city’s rivers.

Philex had pumped out sediments from the Balog Creek but it was still awaiting approval from the National Power Corp. to remove the tailings that had accumulated in the convergence area of the creek and Agno River.

Melecio said the sediment flow to the Pangasinan plains may have been stopped by the San Roque Dam but not the water that goes with it.

“Remember, the [Agno] river is not a dead river,” Melecio said.

He said he and other members of the study group now have initial individual and independent data and they are meeting next week to compare notes.

“There will be traces [of heavy metal contamination]. The idea is to determine the level of water quality, whether it is breaching the maximum standard set by the Environmental Management Bureau or not,” he said.

Valdez said that as soon as the tailings pond breached, the dam’s water quality was tested and there was “no anomaly observed.”

“Of course, we have to see what will have happen in the future,” Valdez said.

Except for its effects on the mechanical seals of the dam, the mine tailings spill has not affected San Roque Dam’s operations to generate power, he said. Gabriel Cardinoza, Inquirer Northern Luzon