Double standard

It’s been three years since the residents of West Tower Condominium in Bangkal, the most populated barangay of Makati saw their lives practically turned upside down due to the effects of the FPIC (First Philippine Industrial Corp.) pipeline leak. To this day, the residents continue to deal with the uncertainty as the leaked gases remain underground. 

According to Dr. Carlo Arcilla of UPNIGS (UP Diliman National Institute of Geological Sciences), it’s disturbing how “some recent news reports (especially those coming from a network whose owners also own the pipeline) have mentioned that there is very little left of the contaminant plume beneath Bangkal.”

While it’s true that there’s an ongoing remediation courtesy of the Multi Phase Extraction (MPE) system commissioned by FPIC (cleaning approximately 500,000 liters of contaminated water per day), the remaining 25-30 percent of the leaked fuel now forms a contaminant plume that is largely absorbed by the groundwater and soil that cannot be easily removed. So, no, ladies and gentlemen, the seemingly “very little left of the contaminants” as claimed by the FPIC group only becomes less visible, but in actual fact becomes a harmful cloud of contaminants that are more dangerous since these are not visible to the naked eye.

FPIC’s pronouncements that MPE will only operate within two to three years before cleanup is stopped is a very misguided assumption given that more than 700 liters of the fuel underground is believed to be decomposing per day.

First of all, it’s not for FPIC to decide when the cleanup should be put to a halt. The Department of Health heads the Inter Agency Committee on Health and Environment (IACHE), designated by the Court of Appeals, and it’s up to them to determine the final condition of the cleanup process being done and no one else. Makati City has also sought the help of UP-NIGS as consultants for this disaster. According to Dr. Arcilla, Makati City has every right to argue that carcinogenic compounds disposed of in the city’s groundwater and soil should be cleaned even if there are no active groundwater wells used for drinking (underscoring ours). Future constructions in the area may need access to groundwater and this could expose residents and workers to serious health threats.

In the report of Dr. Arcilla, who is also the director of UP-NIGS, he explained that a disaster or calamity can only be considered finished or over if the principal causing force like floodwaters, tsunami or earthquake had dissipated. However, the Makati pipeline leak is definitely far from over precisely because the causing force is still present even if remediation is being conducted.

The FPIC leak is a disaster that began three years ago, and it’s still happening up to the present and may be an even bigger threat in the future if the cleanup is incomplete. Surface calculation also shows that MPE cleanup efforts should take not just three years but six.

Well-meaning environment watchdogs bare their fangs and fiercely growl at environmental causes like the case of Philex Mining Corp.’s tailings pond leak. However, there is clearly a double standard here when it comes to labeling or defining what constitutes a massive environmental disaster. The tailings spill has been described as “massive” and perhaps this may be so in terms of the volume spilled in the river. But in the said mining incident, the spilled materials are non-toxic (even MGB’s Leo Jasareno admitted so), there were no casualties, no residents were displaced and Philex has been transparent as far as the disaster and the subsequent cleanup and remediation efforts are concerned. And yes, it is set to pay a fine of P1 billion.

Compare that with the way FPIC handled the disaster, and how efforts were made to hide the real nature and the extent of the spill. To this day, the FPIC Makati pipeline continues to be a serious threat to the West Tower and Barangay Bangkal resident homeowners with a massive contaminant plume remaining underground. The fact that this huge volume of carcinogenic materials is unseen makes it all the more sinister and dangerous, because it gives a false sense of safety. As Arcilla correctly pointed out, the FPIC leak is a very clear example of “what you can’t see could really hurt you.” 

For comments, email at [email protected]