UP Study Finds Toxic Metals in Rapu-Rapu Mine Spill

Sediments near the mine tailings spillage in Rapu-Rapu Island, Albay province were found to contain not just cyanide but also heavy metals namely, mercury, lead, cadmium, chromium, and arsenic, which are  poisonous to humans and the environment.

By Dennis Espada

Bulatlat

Rapu-rapu island’s shore, now contaminated by mine spill PHOTO BY AUBREY SC MAKILAN

Sediments near the mine tailing spillage in Rapu-Rapu Island, Albay province (some 550 kms from Manila) were found to contain not just cyanide but also heavy metals that are poisonous to humans and the environment.   A laboratory analysis conducted by the Environmental Engineering Unit of the National Engineering Center of the University of the Philippines in Quezon City revealed that all sediment samples are “acidic” and tested positive for the presence of mercury, lead, cadmium, chromium and arsenic, among others. The findings were presented to the media last February 1.

The island-municipality hosts the Rapu-Rapu Polymetallic Project operated by the Australian transnational firm Lafayette Mining Limited—flaunted as the Macapagal-Arroyo government’s “flagship” project to revitalize the mining industry.

Poisonous metals

The UP study was commissioned by the Center for Environmental Concerns-Philippines (CEC), an ecological research organization that led a fact-finding team last Nov. 12-13 to probe the ecological implications of Lafayette’s mining operations in Rapu-Rapu. The team visited the island’s Barangay Binosawan and collected at least 34 sediment samples from ponds where water was believed to have flowed from the mine site. The group also took samples of the remaining mine tailings from the tailings pond to the shoreline.

Last October 11 and 31, mine wastes contaminated with cyanide spilled to the sea allegedly triggering a fish kill. The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) then slapped Lafayette a fine of P10.7 million in violation of the Clean Water Act early last month.

However, the study revealed that the water was contaminated not only by cyanide. Tests revealed a sediment sample that stores mercury at 0.999 part per million (ppm) was found near one of the spots where the spillage took place. This is way beyond the government’s allowable standard of 0.20 ppm for disposal of industrial wastes.

CEC researcher Januar Ong said that the study contradicted Lafayette’s claims that it was not using mercury in its operations.

“Hindi dahilan ang hindi paggamit ng minahan ng mercury kung bakit nagkaroon ng mas mataas na lebel ng mercury sa mga isda sa panukatan ng gobyerno dahil ang naturang mercury ay natural na nananatili sa ilalim ng lupa at/o sa mga bato. Dahil sa pagmimina ng Lafayette, ang malawakang paghuhukay, nailabas ang mga ito at dumaloy kasama ng mine tailings patungong sapa at dagat,” (The company cannot argue that it does not use mercury in its mining operations to escape responsibility for the high levels of mercury found in fishes. In the course of its diggings, Lafayette unearths mercury, which is naturally found in certain areas in the soil and rocks, causing it to flow with the mine tailings towards streams and the sea.)  Ong said.

Lafayette is using the “cyanide leaching method”, a rapid manner of extracting gold from the ore, Ong explained.

The UP study, he said, also validates an earlier study made by the Ateneo de Naga University’s Institute of Environmental Conservation and Research (Inecar), which revealed the occurrence of acid mine drainage (AMD) in the area. AMD is polluted water with high levels of iron, aluminum and sulfuric acid that appears yellow-orange in color.

He also pointed out that the said metals are natural parts of rocks excavated for mining. If these were brought to the surface, he said, it could leak or mix with any type of water, including the residents’ drinking source.

Andy Salatan, an instructor from UP’s Institute of Chemistry, said that mercury is a neuro-toxin that can induce cancer, brain damage and abortion among pregnant women. Cadmium destroys the bones and internal organs, while lead can break up the central nervous system. He thinks it is possible for humans to ingest these metals by eating marine animals like fish and shrimps that are caught within contaminated areas. “Actually, ang mga metals na ‘to, tinanggal na sa mga experiments ng General Chemistry dahil sa kanilang mga epekto (These metals have been removed from experiments in General Chemistry because of its effects),” he said.

Against large-scale mining

Following the release of CEC’s report, environmentalists and mine-affected people’s organizations has accelerated their demand for the permanent closure of Lafayette’s mining operations in Rapu-Rapu.

The anti-corporate mining alliance called Defend Patrimony! (Movement Against Globalization of Mining Industry, Plunder and Destruction) urged Lafayette to immediately rehabilitate the affected areas, provide medical assistance and compensate the people of Rapu-Rapu for loss of income due to the mining operations and mine spill.

Just recently, the group has found an ally among leaders of the Roman Catholic Church. In its pastoral letter last January 29, the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) appealed to the government to stop the 24 large-scale mining projects and to scrap the Mining Act of 1995, a law that place the country’s mineral resources under foreign control and exploitation.

Deploring the Macapagal-Arroyo administration’s efforts to pressure and co-opt the CBCP into reversing its stand against large-scale mining, Trixie Concepcion, spokesperson of Defend Patrimony! stated, “What the people want is a mining policy that is geared towards national industrialization and genuine development, which guarantees environmental protection and respects human rights.” 

“We are not against mining per se. What we are opposing is the liberalization of mining…the environmental tragedies now taking place far outweigh the claimed benefits of corporate mining in the country,” Kalikasan-People’s Network for the Environment (KPNE) national coordinator Clemente Bautista Jr. said. Bulatlat  

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