West Tower Condo: Something fishy and smellier

Josefino Galeng of Nueva Ecija sent Spy Bits an email in reaction to our Oct. 14 column item titled “Ticking fuel bomb.” The item reminded him of “Seconds from Disaster,” a National Geographic TV documentary series that featured natural and man-made disasters. Mr. Galeng specifically mentioned an episode called “Inferno at Guadalajara” where the streets in this Mexican city became living hell for residents in 1992.

He disclosed that the Guadalajara explosions “were caused by gasoline leaking from the underground pipeline owned and operated by the petroleum company PEMEX. More than 500 people died with hundreds of millions of dollars worth of damages. The pipes that you mentioned (in the Oct. 14 Spy Bits column) as being shared by Shell and Caltex is actually the pipeline owned and operated by First Phil. Industrial Corp. (FPIC) under contract with Shell and Caltex (Chevron). This pipeline was built in 1968. It was originally called the ‘Meralco pipeline.’

“It starts from the Shell refinery in Tabangao, Batangas to the Pandacan oil depot. It has a booster pumping station in Lipa City and a reheater facility in Sto. Tomas, Batangas. I worked in the construction of this pipeline and I have a suggestion on how to detect a leak in the pipeline. During the initial operation of the pipeline, a test was conducted to determine the travel time of the fuel oil from Batangas to Manila. A certain amount of radioactive iodine was injected into the pipe at the pumping facility at the Shell refinery and then monitoring the presence of this radioactive substance at the Pandacan depot using radiation detectors known as Geiger counters.

“Injecting the radioactive iodine can be done repeatedly for a certain length of time, maybe for a few days. Geiger counters are then traced on the ground above the pipeline. Any radioactive iodine that has leaked out together with the gasoline will be detected by the Geiger counters thus pinpointing the location of the leak. The radioactive iodine is produced by scientists of the nuclear reactor facility at the UP campus in Diliman, Q.C. They also have Geiger counters.

“In the National Geographic TV show, the cause of the pipeline leaks is corrosion of the buried pipe. People were complaining about the smell of gasoline in their area. Their water also smelled of gasoline. Three days before the explosions, the city mayor refused to evacuate the people. And then a series of explosions under the streets of Guadalajara. Disaster.”

A knowledgeable source from UP-NIGS or the UP National Institute for Geological Sciences confirmed that they have indeed recommended the use of radioactive iodine and the Geiger counters to once and for all detect the location of the leak. But for some reason, FPIC has been very adamant in its refusal, giving the excuse that the radioactive iodine could cause contamination.

However, Spy Bits sources disclosed that the amount to be used is too small to cause any contamination, plus the fact that the chemical would be destroyed in a matter of days. The same source also disclosed a principle called “from the cradle to the grave,” explaining that while FPIC owns the pipeline, Shell and Chevron will ultimately be held most accountable for the leak in West Tower because these two companies own the oil products that pass through the pipeline. The Spy Bits source disclosed that executives from Shell and Chevron have quietly visited the West Tower area with FPIC people - which makes one wonder if these people know what they’re doing, or is there something fishy and smellier than the leak going on?

Spy tidbit

— Fred Yao, owner, chairman and CEO of Zest Air and Zesto soft drinks and a major contributor to the Aquino campaign, is being considered as Philippine Ambassador to China. The amiable business tycoon is supposedly very popular within the business circles but for some unknown reason several well connected individuals from the Filipino-Chinese business community are blocking his appointment. We wonder why.

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