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TEMPORARY BURIAL SITE DPL wants land cleared of PCB
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Posted on Feb 04 2000
The Division of Public Lands has asked the Division of Environmental Quality to first ensure that the area it has requested as a temporary burial place is free from contamination of polychlorinated biphenyls.
DEQ has requested for a piece of land near the Lower Base Cemetery which has been ordered closed by Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio since October 1999 due to widespread contamination of PCB.
The U.S. Army Corps has yet to complete the cleanup of the Lower Base Cemetery which was suspended after the company it has contracted to do remove the contamination failed to finish the job.
According to Vice T. Castro, chief planner of DPL, the area which is just beside the Lower Base Cemetery is about 375 sq. m.
“We are waiting for the confirmation test on PCB first before we can act on the request. If it is also contaminated, then we have to look for another place,” said Mr. Castro.
DEQ has requested a temporary burial place specifically to be used by the residents of Tanapag village since it will still take time before the new cemetery in Marpi can be completed.
Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio has approved the proposed new site for the planned public cemetery in Marpi after an initial measure was rejected by the governor due to unavailability and inappropriateness of the identified public lands.
Marpi has been chosen the site for the new public cemetery as an alternative to existing cemeteries in Chalan Kanoa, Tanapag and Capitol Hills.
In a move to protect the people who insist on entering the Lower Base Cemetery, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers installed temporary covers of plastic sheets and crushed stones in the area.
Tanapag residents have strongly condemned the U.S. Army Corps for its failure to notify the people immediately about the PCB contamination, which they blamed for deaths and diseases in the village.
The Department of Public Health is set to conduct a health evaluation of the people in the village to find out the level of PCB exposure of the residents. (Lindablue F. Romero)
