Toxic substances and hazardous waste management

In relation to the countrys water supply

A report from a study conducted by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization
(UNIDO) in 1999 emphasizes that the status of our water supply is even more critical due to the
prevalence of hazardous wastes in the country. According to the UNIDO, approximately 2,000
cubic meters of solvent wastes, 22,000 tons of heavy metals, infectious wastes, biological
sludge, lubricants, and intractable wastes, as well as 25 million cubic meters of acid/alkaline
liquid wastes are improperly disposed of annually in the Metro Manila area alone.
In the Philippines alone, chemical pollution is quickly taking its toll on our limited supply of
fresh water. A lethal cocktail of hazardous chemicals are being dumped daily into such major
water sources as the Laguna Lake and the Pasig River. Data from the Environmental
Management Bureau (EMB) of the Philippines showed that out of the 127 freshwater bodies
that they sampled, 47% percent were found to have good water quality. However, 40% of
those sampled were found to have only fair water quality, while 13% showed poor water
quality.
The major sources of water pollution in the country are inadequately treated domestic
wastewater or sewage, agricultural wastewater, industrial wastewater, and non-point sources
such as rain- and groundwater runoff from solid waste or garbage deposits, which is also known
as leachate.
o Industrial wastewater: The kinds of pollutants found in industrial wastewater varies
according to the types of industries involved, but some common pollutants are
chromium, cadmium, lead, mercury, and cyanide. Non-point sources/leachate: The
same kinds of pollutants found in industrial wastewater can also be found in leachate.
o Agricultural wastewater: This can include organic wastes such as decayed plants,
livestock manure, and dead animals, soil runoff due to erosion, and pesticides and
fertilizer residues.
o Domestic wastewater/sewage: This can contain bacteria and viruses that can threaten
or even be fatal to human life.
o Other sources of water pollution include oil and/or chemical spills, mine tailings or spills,
and the illegal dumping of wastes in or near bodies of water.
According to data from the Philippine Environment Monitor (PEM) and the EMB, four regions
had unsatisfactory ratings for their water quality criteria. These include the National Capital
Region (NCR) or Metro Manila, Southern Tagalog Region (Region IV), Central Luzon (Region
III), and Central Visayas (Region VII).

It is also useful to note that the Ilocos region (Region I) was found to be one of the highest
contributors to nitrate contamination.
http://www.greenpeace.org/seasia/ph/What-we-do/Toxics/Water-Patrol/The-problem/

In relation to e-waste

E-waste is now the fastest growing component of the municipal solid waste stream because
people are upgrading their mobile phones, computers, televisions, audio equipment and
printers more frequently than ever before. Mobile phones and computers are causing the
biggest problem because they are replaced most often. In Europe e-waste is increasing at
three to five percent a year, almost three times faster than the total waste stream. Developing
countries are also expected to triple their e-waste production over the next five years.
 Toxic chemicals in electronics products can leach into the land over time or are released into
the atmosphere, impacting nearby communities and the environment. In many European
countries, regulations have been introduced to prevent electronic waste being dumped in
landfills due to its hazardous content. However, the practice still continues in many countries.
In Hong Kong for example, it is estimated that 10-20 percent of discarded computers go to
landfill.
Incineration of these e-wastes releases heavy metals such as lead, cadmium and mercury into
the air and ashes. Mercury released into the atmosphere can bio accumulate in the foodchain,
particularly in fish - the major route of exposure for the general public. If the products contain
PVC plastic, highly toxic dioxins and furans are also released. Brominated flame retardants
generate brominated dioxins and furans when e-waste is burned.
In developed countries, electronics recycling takes place in purpose-built recycling plants
under controlled conditions. In many EU states for example, plastics from e-waste are not
recycled to avoid brominated furans and dioxins being released into the atmosphere. In
developing countries however, there are no such controls. Recycling is done by hand in scrap
yards, often by children.
In the 1990s, governments in the EU, Japan and some US states set up e-waste 'recycling'
systems. But many countries did not have the capacity to deal with the sheer quantity of e-
waste they generated or with its hazardous nature.

Therefore, they began exporting the problem to developing countries where laws to protect
workers and the environment are inadequate or not enforced. It is also cheaper to 'recycle'
waste in developing countries; the cost of glass-to-glass recycling of computer monitors in the
US is ten times more than in China.

Demand in Asia for electronic waste began to grow when scrap yards found they could extract
valuable substances such as copper, iron, silicon, nickel and gold, during the recycling
process. A mobile phone, for example, is 19 percent copper and eight percent iron.
http://www.greenpeace.org/seasia/ph/What-we-do/Toxics/Greener-Electronics/Toxic-Tech/

Related News

Importation of garbage

Imported cargoes from Canada got attention in 2014 after a Change.org petition brought up how 50
40-foot container vans left at the Manila Port since 2013 has "garbage juice" already leaking and
posing a health hazard.

DENR, however, later declared the household garbage inside the cargoes as nontoxic.

Declaring it as not hazardous was the decision of the interagency committee created to deal with the
issue, engineer Gerry Saez, head of the Hazardous Waste Management Section of the DENR-
Environmental Management Bureau, said.

The interagency committee is composed of the DENR, Department of Foreign Affairs, and the Bureau
of Customs.

Saez added that even though not hazardous, the importation of the cargoes is against Annex II of
the Basel Convention which deals with household wastes.

It was a case of misinformation on the part of the importer, he explained.

[The importer] declared it as plastic for recycling, Saez said. But upon inspection the DENR found
that the cargoes contained household waste.

Right now, he said that resolving the issue involves diplomatic talks. But if the cargo could not be
shipped back to Canada, DENR is looking at disposing the garbage in the country as another option.
(http://cnnphilippines.com/news/2015/04/13/stricter-toxic-waste-law-eyed.html)
 Dumping of hazardous waste

A defense contractor of the US Navy is facing a possible Senate investigation after allegations that one
of its vessels had dumped hazardous waste in Subic Bay, the site of a former US naval base that has
been transformed into a freeport.

The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Ecology Center and the Coast Guard (PCG) had taken
water samples from the MV Glenn Guardian last Oct. 16 to after some residents living along the bays
shoreline reported possible hazardous waste coming from the ship.

Per our standards, the sample was not fit for release to the environment as the organic content was
beyond the permissible limits," said Henry Habacon from the Subic Water and Sewerage Company
(SWSC), which conducted the lab tests.

This is not the first time that Glenn Marine has been accused of dumping liquid wastes into the sea. In
2011, the shipping firm was also alleged to have released wastewater near Manila Bay, and the case
remains pending with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).

According to published reports and Santiagos statement, MV Glenn Guardian captain Eduberto
Acedilla said during the inspection last month that the ship was carrying some 50,000 gallons of
wastewater from faucets and toilets, and about 200 liters of bilge water.

"We tested it for domestic strength only, and results showed that it was beyond the permissible limits.
The sample is of industrial strength," Habacon told GMA News.

However, he cautioned that the company has not released the results of the study to the public yet.
"The result we sent to the SBMA Ecology therefore is not conclusive whether the sample was toxic or
not, Habacon said.
(http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/nation/281781/senate-to-investigate-alleged-dumping-of-
waste-in-subic-bay/story/)