Leaking fuel tanks reported in Tanapag

Division of Environmental Quality Director Ignacio Cabrera has expressed concern over the presence of leaking fuel tanks in Tanapag community which village residents feared may contaminate the groundwater.

Cabrera said DEQ has asked the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to conduct tests on samples taken from the fuel tanks. He said the agency will work with the Army Corps in addressing this problem.

Tanapag resident Calistro M. Falig recently wrote to DEQ seeking assistance regarding three leaking fuel tanks (measuring 50 feet in diameter and 30 feet in height) in his property.

“The fuel (hundreds of gallons) and the possible hazardous chemical contamination of our land, farm animals and family pose serious health hazards, ” said Falig. He said some of the fuel tanks are already rusting and dilapidated, and may endanger the lives of people living in the area.

Based on the aerial photograph discovered by Falig’s sister at the Bishop Museum in Hawaii, there were 23 fuel tanks in Tanapag village left by the U.S. military in the 1960s.

The aerial photo was obtained to support their application that the family farm is not a wetland because it was originally used by the military. Unfortunately, the presence of the three fuel tanks resulted in clogged drainage and accumulation of water in the place.

As early as January 1993, Falig has asked the help of then acting DEQ Chief Marian Seman in the disposal of the fuel tanks’ contents. However, he was told that he would have to pay for the testing kits.

“This is not our mess, this is the federal government’s mess that’s why we are asking for help,” he said.

Falig said his main concerns are potential injury to children due to falling metal sheets or debris from the dilapidated tanks and the continued restriction in land use due to the huge area occupied by the abandoned fuel tanks.

He is also worried that it may cause cancer after a 36-year-old relative, who lives adjacent to the fuel tank, was diagnosed with the disease. “Could it have something to do with the fuel tank?” asked Falig.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is currently faced with the huge problem of cleaning up the Lower Base Cemetery, which has been contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), a cancer-causing chemical.

PCBs were contained in the capacitors left by the U.S. military years ago. The presence of these electrical capacitors found throughout Tanapag village was first brought to the attention of DEQ in 1988. (Lindablue F. Romero)