DUE TO PRESENCE OF PCB Cemetery off-limits

With only a few days left before All Soul’s Day, Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio yesterday ordered the temporary closure of the Lower Base Cemetery to protect the people against possible contamination from polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), a cancer-causing chemical present in the area.

Tanapag residents have demanded an immediate cleanup of the area as they condemned the U.S. Army Corps. of Engineers during a recent public hearing for failing to ensure that the people are safe from the harmful effects of PCBs.

The governor has expressed concern on the lingering presence of PCBs at the cemetery, where there’s a high concentration of toxic waste left way back in the ’60s.

“(T)he CNMI Government, in the interest of public health, is closing the Tanapag (Lower Base) Cemetery until the PCB contamination within the cemetery is remediated properly by the USACOE,” said a press release issued by the Governor’s Public Information Office.

Contractors of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers were scheduled to arrive this week to install a temporary cap of plastic and crushed stone over the most contaminated areas of the cemetery until remediation measures are carried out.

But due to the delay in their arrival, the CNMI government decided to close the cemetery until it is considered safe. Although the Division of Environmental Quality has warned the public against visiting the cemetery due to health hazards from exposure to PCB-contaminated soil, many people have been trooping to Lower Base to spruce up the graveyard of their relatives.

A temporary cap will be placed in the most contaminated areas to reduce the community’s exposure from airborne soil particles (dust) and to reduce the exposure for those who insists on visiting the cemetery.

“We do not want any plastic or gravel cover as temporary covers. We want the U.S. Army Corps to make sure that we are safe. They brought this trash here so they should be made responsible to take these with them,” said Benigno Sablan, a community leader in the village.

The CNMI government will cordon off that cemetery, as it appealed to the public to refrain from going near the area.

The public is also requested to call the Division of Environmental Quality for any inquiries regarding risks and possible precautionary measure.

The government’s press release also said Bishop Tomas Camacho will say mass at the Tanapag Church for the people in the village on All Soul’s Day instead of residents going to the cemetery.

Investigation showed that some parts of Tanapag village and the Lower Base Cemetery have been contaminated with PCBs and dioxins. DEQ was first notified about the presence of electrical capacitors scattered throughout Tanapag in 1988.

These capacitors were used then as boundary markers, roadblocks for driveways, windbreakers for barbecue sites and headstones.

With the assistance of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and several contractors, DEQ collected 53 PCB capacitors and, for lack of hazardous waste storage facility, kept them temporarily in yard of the Department of Public Works’ in Lower Base.

The capacitors were later on removed from Tanapag and shipped to the U.S. mainland for disposal.

While the US army engineers claimed that they had rid the village of contamination in 1997, they have yet to complete the clean up in the cemetery.

Experiments conducted in animals show that PCBs have caused cancer as well as affected their immune, reproductive, nervous and endocrine systems. Studies in humans have raised further concerns regarding the cancer causing potential of PCBs.

People who have been exposed to PCBs in the air for a long time have also experienced nose, lungs and skin irritation, such as acne and rashes, according to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry.

Various medical tests can be conducted to find out if PCBs are in a person’s blood, body fat and breast milk. ATSDR said blood tests are the easiest, safest and best method for detecting recent exposure to large amounts of PCBs.