Naga power plant spews black smoke

THE emission of black smoke from a coal-fired power plant in Naga City yesterday was an “infrequent” occurrence, said a power plant spokesperson.

He said the incident could be due to to the imbalance of air-fuel ratio.

The smoke emission, which lasted more than a minute, was witnessed by members of the media and representatives of the Mines and Geosciences Bureau of the Department of Environment and Natural Reosurces in Central Visayas.

They were in the APO Cemex mine on a familiarization tour in celebration of environment month.

The smoke stack of the Salcon Power Corp. (SPC) did not usually release black smoke, said Reniero Lastimoso, SPC spokesperson.

Lastimoso explained that the incident may have happened due to sluggish equipment and the amount of air and smoke that blends together while coal burns.

Jenevy Patalingjug, APO Cemex Corp. environment health and safety engineer who led the tour, said they put in place pollution control measures to avoid complaints from nearby residents.

She said they set up 10 ambient air samplings to monitor total suspended particles in their 100-hectare area.

Patalingjug said they also test marine resources for heavy metals that could come from their water discharges.

She dismissed allegations that their industry is a source of dust pollution in barangay Tinaan.

She said the company works with a multipartite monitoring team that helps ensure their environmental compliance.

“We directly communicate with the community to to prepare for their possible concerns,” Patalingjug said.

APO Cemex, which produces 8,000 metric tons of cement daily and equivalent to 125,000 bags of cement, operates a 200-hectare limestone and 100-hectare pozzolan quarry.

Environmentalists have been protesting the presence of coal-fired power plants in Cebu.

In an earlier interview, lawyer Gloria Estenzo Ramos of the Philippine Earth Justice Center said they will avail of all legal remedies to make more coal-fired power plants won’t be built in the province.