by Brownrichardbrown
The information provided on this by me, Richard Brown, is under my own personal responsibility. Similarly, any opinions expressed are my own and are in no way to be taken as those of a government agency/entity/academe.
Do we have short memories?
The following were studied, discussed, debated, published and acted upon by the government. The government was successful to put a stop on illegal small scale mining activity at Didipio.
But, it looks like history repeats itself.
Illegal small scale miners at Barangay Didipio, Municipality of Kasibu in the province of Nueva Vizcaya are back.
Yes they are back… but not for the good of the community, but threatening mercury contamination of Nueva Vizcaya residents and the environment.
Let us go back in time and read on…
The hunt of un-permitted small scale miners for gold in the hills of Nueva Vizcaya is exposing to threat of mercury poisoning the health of a tribal community, rivers, and forests of the rustic village.
The diggings may not turn Brgy. Didipio in Kasibu, Nueva Vizcaya into an underground graveyard as the Diwalwal gold rush caused, but it has started ticking alarm bells as blood samples of residents were found with high mercury.
Water samples taken at the Camgat, Surong, and Didipio rivers all showed mercury beyond the safe levels set by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).
Initial results of a survey of the Nueva Vizcaya State University (NVSU) showed that water samples at the rivers contain mercury 0.002 milligram per liter. Sent for analysis at the University of the Philippines’ National Science Research Institute (NSRI), the mercury level is above the acceptable 0.0001 milligram per liter.
“The water in the river is murky. There are a few benthic organisms (freshwater fishes like hito) and macrophytes. Dissolved oxygen is low so plankton count (algae and microorganisms that serve as food fishes) is low,” said NVSU Research Director Prof. Elmer T. Castaneto, head of the environmental survey.
“Tilapia used to be an immediate source of livelihood. But now, there are no more areas to fish from. Mercury is highly-toxic even in small amount,” he said.
Blood samples taken from Didipio residents examined at St. Luke’s Hospital showed above normal mercury content.
“The data are raw, but our study has shown the presence of above normal mercury in blood samples. This is just one study that has to be replicated. But even with this, people should be aware of the danger that mercury is there when there should not be,” said Dr. Marilou Abon, NVSU president.
Mercury detection was blamed by the community to illegal small scale mines.
Records show that unlike the Rapu Rapu mine site in Albay, there are nil naturally-occurring mercury in rock types of Didipio.
And while the NVSU survey showed still low levels of mercury on water, stream sediment samples taken from waterbeds indicate high mercury content of up to 4000 ppm, indicating poisonous water flowing into irrigation canals and seeping into the water table and drunk as potable water by community residents.
“It is hypothesized that the Didipio community rice paddies are contaminated too,” Castaneto said.
“The community is afraid they might be drinking contaminated water,” a local Pastor Efren Bulawan said.
“The government should put a stop in this illegal mining. This is the clamor of the community. People are getting killed and human health and the environment are in danger of mercury poisoning,” - Didipio residents during NVSU’s advocacy forum of June 15, 2006.
Castaneto said Nueva Vizcaya’s Environment and Natural Resources Office (ENRO) Chief Roberto Apigo, the Provincial Mining Regulatory Board, and DENR await results forum documentation of the NVSU environmental survey to be able to act on mercury presence in the area.
With its highly-toxic nature, government bans use of mercury in small scale mining operations.
“Mercury is a controlled chemical substance. Government discourages its use. No permit is being issued for it,” said Mines and Geosciences Bureau Mining Tenements Director Leo Jasareno.
Small scale miners use mercury to extract gold from rocks. After grinding the mineral-containing rock into a ball mill, they burn mercury to take out the gold. But vaporizing metallic liquid mercury in the heating process is very dangerous to human health.
Once mercury is inhaled by the human body, this goes to the lungs and 80 percent of what is inhaled is retained by the body, dissolved in fatty tissue, and can damage the central nervous system. Mercury exposure causes damage to the kidney, cardiovascular and immunological system, brain, spinal cord, and liver.
Human intake of mercury-containing fish, accumulated over time, can impair a person’s ability to feel, see, move and taste, causes numbness, tunnel vision, and leads eventually to coma, and death
Mercury intake by pregnant women can cause disorders in the mother and the unborn child.
The chase for gold in the sleepy town has gone on for many years. But this intensified late last year as a mineable copper-gold reserve was announced to be mined by Oceanagold Philippines, Inc. (OGPI) under a Financial and Technical Assistance Agreement (FTAA).
Over this time, two small scale miners were already killed by the illegal operations. Last June 15, Eugene Ansibey, 27, was killed inside a tunnel in the Didipio hill after experiencing dizziness apparently caused by suffocation from dynamite emitted gas residues.
The use of dynamite requires a government permit; small scale operations are not allowed to use it.
But aside from infringing government’s explosive use policies, small miners exhaust forest timber, which they use to support tunnels, even without permit. This further contributes to erosion and environmental degradation in Didipio.
Operating without the legal sanction, miners expose themselves to death in operations that do not have safety precautions and equipment such as exhausts to eliminate dynamite fumes.
Small scale mining operations in Didipio is believed to be financed by mining operators from other small scale mining sites in the region. Estimates showed that there may be 17 to 20 ball mills involving 190 people in gold panning now in Didipio, all extensively using mercury.
However, local government unit’s (LGU) ability to regulate use of mercury or illegal small scale mining remains to be questionable after the Local Government Act of 1991 transferred this law enforcement power from the DENR to the LGU. This is believed to have caused serious disasters, taking a toll on many lives in small scale mines in Diwalwal, Compostela Valley.
NVSU is set in July to conduct a phase 2 of the study which will involve analysis of mercury content in crabs and fishes. It will also test water from other sites for content of mercury and heavy metal in rivers outside of Didipio - as part of its contribution to environmental conservation in the province.
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