Guimaras folk complain of skin irritation, respiratory problems

NUEVA VALENCIA, Guimaras (AFP) — Hundreds of people have fallen sick and one man has died in the central Philippines following the country’s worst ever oil spill, health officials said yesterday.

The Department of Health (DOH) has sent medical teams to Guimaras island, which bore the brunt of the disaster, where 329 people have complained of a range of health problems including skin irritation and respiratory problems.

Health Secretary Francisco Duque arrived in Iloilo City yesterday to see first hand the conditions following the sinking of an oil tanker off Guimaras on Aug. 11 which has discharged more than 50,000 gallons of industrial oil into the pristine seas.

The tanker, said to be resting on the seabed with 450,000 gallons still in its hold has been described as an ecological time bomb by environmentalists.

Four United States coast guard and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency experts also arrived in Iloilo yesterday to assess the damage and see how they could help. Two of them flew over the area while two others traveled by boat to Guimaras.

They join Japanese experts who have already been sent to assist in the disaster.

Duque said the DOH would look into the case of Rogelio Dalida, a fisherman from Nueva Valencia town in Guimaras who reportedly died of a heart attack after inhaling oil fumes.

He has been suffering from asthma and the fumes could have aggravated his condition, Duque said.

Nueva Valencia Mayor Diosdado Gonzaga confirmed one man in his town died last week but said more tests were needed to determine if his heart attack was really brought on by the oil spill or not.

Duque said the DOH would also look into hundreds of complaints by Guimaras residents of health problems possibly arising from the oil slick. These range from skin irritation and respiratory problems to stomach aches and nausea, Duque said.

Two DOH toxicologists have been sent to Guimaras to look into the possibility of relocating some coastal residents away from the shore.

Duque has warned residents exposure to the oil could lead to illnesses and advised them not to eat any marine products taken from the polluted waters.

Residents have been forced to use improvised spill booms, made of bamboo and dried grass to try to prevent black sludge washing up onto beaches.

They were also using buckets and shovels to scoop the sludge from the beaches.

Oil has contaminated more than 300 kilometers of coastline on Guimaras island and is now threatening Negros, the country’s fourth-largest island, as well as Panay island. Oil has also destroyed 454 hectares of mangroves and 58 hectares of seaweed farms.