PCB CONTAMINATION DOI agrees to pitch in money for medical evaluation

The U.S. Department of Interior yesterday agreed to provide assistance to the ongoing medical evaluation of Tanapag residents in connection with the polychlorinated biphenyl contamination in the village by funding the stay of four medical staff from the U.S. Public Health Service on the island.

Public Health Secretary Joseph Kevin Villagomez said representatives of the U.S. Public Health Service are currently assisting the medical group in the Tanapag Health Center. With the DOI support, the DPH chief wants four more medical staff from the U.S. Public Health Service to help in the health screening.

“It is a big cost to us and we’re glad that DOI is willing to support the program after they’ve seen that the people are really coming for medical evaluation and the progress that we’re making,” Mr. Villagomez said.

This developed as the Guam Department of Public Health officials asked the assistance of the CNMI on how they should carry out their own medical evaluation amid the similar PCB contamination in Guam’s Power Plant.

“Guam wants to learn from the process that we went through and how we were able to start with limited funding. I told them that they don’t have to be too concerned on whether the federal government will be supporting you or not. The most important thing is to listen to the people,” he said.

Tanapag Health Center has seen the influx of residents for health screening since its opening last Monday. The department expects some 3,000 people who are residents and former residents of Tanapag to undergo medical evaluation at no cost to them.

The medical evaluation is being conducted in response to the demand of the residents who have been exposed to the highly toxic chemical since the electrical capacitors were brought to the island in the ’60s by the U.S. Department of Defense.

Two blood samples will be taken from the residents. One will be subjected to 22 different types of tests which include liver, kidney, blood sugar and cholesterol and will be sent to Guam for analysis. The other blood sample will be for PCB testing and will be shipped to the U.S. mainland for analysis in a laboratory that specializes in the toxic chemical.

DPH has also received support from various government agencies and private sectors since the start of the health screening on Monday donating chairs and tables that will be used in the Tanapag Health Center. Public Health employees worked overtime and even on weekends to prepare the clinic and ensure its smooth operation.

Tanapag residents have been exposed to PCBs since the 1960s when an unknown number of electric capacitors were left behind by the military. The capacitors were originally purchased by the U.S. Department of Defense and used on Kwajalein Atoll as part of the Nike Zeus missile radar system. However, the presence of these capacitors were only discovered by the Division of Environmental Quality in 1988.

With the assistance of the U.S. EPA and several contractors, DEQ was able to collect 53 PCB capacitors and, for lack of hazardous waste storage facility, kept them temporarily at the Department of Public Works’ Lower Base yard. The excavated capacitors were later on removed from Tanapag and shipped to the U.S. mainland for disposal.

The U.S Army Corps of Engineers claimed PCB contamination in the village has been removed since 1997 but villagers have raised doubts on the cleanup conducted by the military. In addition, the residents are still demanding the cleanup of Cemetery 2 which is still contaminated with PCB.