Mercury-threatened residents of Vizcaya town to be relocated

Residents of Brgy. Didipio in Kasibu, Nueva Vizcaya who may be directly exposed to mercury contamination in the Didipio River will be relocated to a safer place, even as small scale mercury miners in the area continue their unlawful activities.

Prof. Elmer T. Castaneto, research director and head of the environmental survey of the Nueva Vizcaya State University (NVSU) said water samples taken from the Didipio river contain mercury at 0.002 milligram per liter.

According to the National Science Research Institute of the University of the Philippines, the mercury level is above the acceptable 0.0001 milligram per liter. Castaneto said water samples taken from the river showed mercury beyond the safe levels set by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).

"Relocation will keep these families away from the danger of mercury contamination and it should be done as soon as possible," said Penro Apigo, Nueva Vizcaya DENR provincial officer.

He said residents in the area bathe in the said river where they also get their drinking water. "That is dangerous and hazardous to their health," he said.

Human intake of mercury-containing water or fish, accumulated over time, can impair a person’s ability to feel, see, move and taste and it may lead to eventual death. Once mercury is inhaled, it goes to the lungs and 80 percent of what is inhaled is retained by the body, dissolved in fatty tissue and can damage the central nervous system.

Primo Marcos, board member of the Nueva Vizcaya Sangguniang Panlalawigan, said small scale mining operations in the province using mercury can have adverse impact on the people and on the environment.

Nueva Vizcaya Gov. Luisa Lloren Cuaresma, has appealed to Environment Secretary Angelo T. Reyes to look into the illegal mercury mining operation in Brgy. Didipio which, she said, "it is not only threatening the health of its residents but its rivers and forests as well."

Sister Ma. Eden Orlino, directress of the church-based diocese Social Action Commission, said the government should encourage illegal mercury miners in the area "to shift to a legal way of mining" sanctioned by the Small Scale Mining Act.

Small scale miners in Didipio use mercury to extract gold from rocks. After grinding the mineral-containing rock in a ball mill, they burn the mercury to take out the gold. Vaporizing metallic liquid mercury in the heating process is very dangerous to human health.

The chase for gold in Brgy. Didipio has been going on for many years now. It intensified late last year as a mineable copper-gold reserve was announced to be mined by Australasian Philippines Mining Inc. (APMI) under a financial and technical assistance agreement.