‘Philippines lacks dioxin monitors for incinerators’

MANILA, Philippines – An environmental scientist warned that the country lacks capability to monitor dioxin releases from incinerators.

Jorge Emmanuel said that “the Philippines is not in a position to continuously, not even routinely, monitor dioxins,” which are some of the most toxic chemicals known to science.

A balik-scientist from the US and now adjunct professor at Silliman University, Emmanuel said national government agencies (NGAs) such as the Departments of Environment and Natural Resources, Health and Science and Technology do not have laboratories that can detect dioxins, requiring samples to be sent abroad to undergo expensive tests.

“Pollution control devices to scrub and filter out dioxins from the exhaust gases are very expensive and costly to operate. To cut down on costs, some vendors may under-design or underutilize or even eliminate pollution control devices,” Emmanuel said at a recent forum in Quezon City organized by Stop WtE (waste to energy) Coalition.

He said it is essential to test for dioxins to independently validate the claims of vendors or manufacturers.

If the NGAs are incapable of independently validating technology vendor claims and monitoring dioxin emissions, the same is true with local government units (LGUs), many of which do not even have approved 10-year solid waste management plans and materials recovery facilities as required by law, he noted.

Dioxins, byproducts of waste combustion, are toxic at extremely small concentrations, clog up the food chain, stay in the environment for a long time and can travel long distances from the source of emission.

“Dioxins are toxic at very low levels and are known to cause cancers, specifically chronic lymphocytic leukemia, soft tissue sarcoma, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, prostate cancer, as well as cancers of the lungs, larynx and trachea,” Emmanuel said.

Dioxins also cause birth defects, alter the reproductive systems of fetuses, impact the IQ of children, suppress the immune system, decrease fertility, cause ovarian dysfunction, and reduce the size of male genitalia.

“They are highly persistent in the environment, so any dioxins produced today will remain for up to 150 years if on top of the soil, more than 500 years if in bodies of water, and up to 1,000 years if the dioxins are covered by a few centimeters of soil surface,” Emmanuel said.