Cebu Daily News / Visayas

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Coast Guard urged to remove toxic cargo Cebu Daily News Posted date: July 21, 2008 ILOILO CITY, Philippines — The mayor of Culasi town has called on government agencies to fasttrack the location and the removal of 16 metric tons of toxic chemical from the cargo ship MV Ocean Papa that sank off Antique at the height of Typhoon Frank last month. Mayor Aida Alpas said on Saturday she had asked the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to retrieve the carcinogenic chemical toluene di-isocyanate (TDI) in 80 drums aboard the stricken vessel. TDI is a main ingredient in the production of flexible polyurethane foam and is used in manufacturing synthetic leather, coated fabrics, paints and adhesives. It can cause severe irritation of the skin and eyes and affects the respiratory, gastrointestinal and central nervous systems if inhaled or ingested. “The chemical has long-term carcinogenic effects on humans,” said a report of the Environmental Management Bureau. “It is of outmost importance that the toxic cargo is located and removed,” Alpas said in a telephone interview. Ocean Papa sank at noon on June 21 near Mararison Island, 5.6 kilometers from the coast of Culasi, which is 86 kilometers north of the provincial capital of San Jose. The vessel's captain, Carlo Kho, and another crew member perished while two others were reported as missing. Twenty-four crew members were rescued, the PCG has said. The incident happened about the same time that the MV Princess of the Stars owned by Sulpicio Lines capsized off Sibuyan Island in Romblon, leaving more than 800 people dead. The vessel also carried 10 tons of the deadly pesticide endosulfan, which authorities want to remove to prevent damage to the environment and allow the retrieval of hundreds of fatalities trapped in the vessel. Coast Guard divers have failed to locate the missing containers from the Ocean Papa, which are believed to have been thrown overboard as the ship sank. Alpas said residents, fearing contamination, were refusing to eat fish. Alpas also feared that any leak would harm the coral reefs and other marine life. Provincial health officer Dr. Norman Tanchuan had sought to allay fears of contamination, saying there had been no reported case of exposure to TDI. The Department of Health (DOH) and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) have sent monitoring teams at the site of the sunken cargo vessel to determine any risk to marine life and the health of residents. “What is important is that the containers with the toxic substance are not opened and exposed,” Health Regional Director Lydia Depra-Ramos said in a telephone interview. /Inquirer