FOLLOWING the reported contamination of shorelines due to a coal spill apparently coming from a factory in Bacnotan town, La Union, most residents of the province are now calling on the government for corporate accountability and better measures towards protection of the environment from toxic pollution caused by industrial plants in the area.
According Cris Palabay, chairperson of the Isalbar Ti Pintas Ti La Union (Save the Beauty of La Union) Coalition, this is a proof that coal is dangerous and should not be allowed in the province of La Union, or any other place in the country.
The impacts may be worse than what we are observing, and there is a possibility that we may even face more than just coal spills.
Reports also indicated that even the Region-1 office of the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has said that coal threatens marine and other wildlife due to its mercury, arsenic, and cadmium contents.
The province of La Union, considered as the “Surfing Capital of the North,” relies mainly on tourism and agriculture for income and livelihood of its residents.
Local residents are now wary of exposure to toxic pollution, not just from the coal spill, but also from the burning of coal in the facility.
But the facility reportedly claimed that the recent heavy rains caused water to accumulate in the mountain, which then carried coal from its stockpile into the shoreline.
They have apparently conducted a shore clean-up drive to try containing the incident, and now awaiting the assessment of the EMB on the extent of contamination.
On the other hand, Romeo Camacho, legal consultant of Support and Advocate Valiantly for the Environment (SAVE LUNA) has said that the ocean is already contaminated and measures have to be done beyond just a clean-up drive.
He says that the provincial government and the local government unit of Bacnotan should immediately act on the matter.
The reported coal spill happened just days after the Isalbar Coalition, SAVE LUNA, and other organizations and concerned citizens staged a “Break Free from Coal” parade and festival in San Fernando and San Juan.
During the event, the participants also criticized the construction of a 670-megawatt coal-fired power plant in Luna, La Union.
They claimed that a coal spill from a 670-megawatt coal-fired power plant will be multiple times more devastating compared to what the province is experiencing right now.
Adding that flying ash, toxic fumes, and other dangers are a reality for communities hosting such coal plants.
This is aside from the contributions to carbon emission, which fuels climate change.
Khevin Yu, Climate and Energy Campaigner of Greenpeace Philippines, says the government should take the Filipinos off from this false path to development, and instead lead the citizenry towards a clean energy future.
The 2016 Greenpeace report titled “Coal: A Public Health Crisis,” which was based on a study conducted with Harvard University, estimates that 2,400 Filipinos are dying from coal-related air pollution every year. (jaypeeyap@ymail.com/PN)
