By Leilanie G. Adriano
Staff reporter
LAOAG
CITY—The Ilocos Norte government has stopped the importation of suspected toxic
materials from Taiwan meant to be used by a sand exporter for its proposed
seaport expansion project in the province.
Atty.
Erme Labayog, chair of the Provincial Quarry Council (PQC), said the
importation by Omnico Natural Resources Inc. (Onri) of blast furnace slag had
been suspended pending a reexamination and validation test if the materials
were safe and would not threaten the province’s marine ecosystem.
Blast
furnace slag is a nonmetallic byproduct of iron and steel production.
The
US-based National Slag Association said on its website (http://www.nationalslag.org/blast-furnace-slag), that during the period
of cooling and hardening from its molten state, blast furnace slag can be
cooled in several ways to form any of several types of products.
During
an inspection on April 8, Mr. Labayog said a team from the PQC and the
provincial environment and natural resources office found a stockpile of what
appears to be mixed gravel and sand, and blast furnace slag, about 20 meters
high, at the northern portion of Onri seaport complex here.
Six
of the nine shipments from Taiwan had been delivered here, he said.
Alma
Kho, Onri vice president for finance and administration, said several
laboratory tests conducted before the importation found the materials safe for
backfilling.
Ms.
Kho, in a letter to Ilocos Norte Gov. Ma. Imelda “Imee” R. Marcos on April 9,
attached several photocopied documents about slag aggregates, results of
physical and chemical analyses and a guarantee issued by the Taiwan-based China
Steel Corp. that the blast furnace slag will not cause mercury pollution.
An
analysis conducted by SGS Taiwan has been revalidated by its Philippine
counterpart, she said.
“SGS
Taiwan and SGS Philippines collaborated to extract water samples from the
proposed site [on Feb.
25] to
establish a baseline data on the present sea-water condition and the same shall
be periodically tested while the project is already on the construction stage,”
Ms. Kho said.
She
said the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) had certified that the materials
do not pose a hazard to coastal waters. The document, signed by Benedicto
Molano, environmental management specialist and head of the clearance and
permitting division of the EMB, was authenticated by the Department of Foreign
Affairs and the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in the Philippines.
Mr.
Labayog said there was still a need to revalidate the laboratory tests, noting
that the basis of the EMB certification was the company’s test results and not
tests on actual samples delivered to Onri’s seaport.
“What
we are concerned about is if these are indeed safe …. In the meantime, we
requested [Onri] to stop the shipment until we get a confirmation from concerned
authorities,” he said.
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