Saipan group supports RP’s call for toxic waste cleanup

An established organization of Saipan residents has expressed support on the Philippines’ call for the US government to ship out toxic wastes left by its military bases in Clark Field, Pampanga.

The Tanapag Action Group said it is now laying the groundwork for a comprehensive approach in helping Pampanga residents and other Manila-based non-governmental organizations in pressuring the US to clean its former military bases in the province of toxic wastes.

TAG Chairman Juan I. Tenorio said the organization is closely monitoring developments in Clark and Subic, which formerly house US military bases and where toxic wastes reportedly remain after American troops left the country in the early 1990s.

Since then, bases cleanup activist in the country have said they are convinced that illnesses acquired by residents near the former military bases were due to their exposure to mercury, nitrate and other toxic chemicals found in the water supply at the former Clark Air Base and the Subic Naval Base.

At least 10 Philippine senators rejected in September 1991 the extension of the 1947 RP-US Military Bases Agreement, ending the permanent basing rights of the United States and the presence of its troops in the Philippines.

Government doctors had found that drinking water with mercury and nitrate was the cause of leukemia and other health disorders among residents of the Cabcom evacuation center, which American troops had used as a motor pool.

On Saipan, only recently did Tanapag residents’ efforts to press the US Environmental Protection Agency bore sweet fruits, after it amended the Toxic Substance Control Act to allow the shipment of PCB-contaminated soil to mainland.

Pacific islanders pressed for the immediate disposal of PCB-contaminated soil to help eliminate threats to the health and welfare of affected territories.

According to EPA’s reports on Return of PCB Waste from US territories Outside the Customs Territory of the United States, there is a difficulty in managing hazardous waste on a small tropical island with limited land resources, a single source of drinking water, and frequent tropical storms, earthquakes and volcanoes.

EPA has amended its rules in order to clarify that PCB waste in US territories and possessions outside the federal custom territory may be moved to the mainland US for proper disposal.

“The rule will allow US territories to dispose of their PCB waste in the mainland of the United States where facilities are available. Because disposal of these wastes may occur only at approved facilities, no unreasonable risks to health or the environment on the mainland US should be created by this rule. The rule shall become effective on April 30,” the report further stressed.

The regulatory agency further assessed that PCBs are toxic and there are risks associated with management that cannot be completely prevented. Disposal of PCBs is strictly controlled to minimize release to the environment and EPA has a strong commitment to ensuring the protection of these communities by mitigating their risk of exposure to PCBs.