Toxic fumes kill woman in Pasig

A 54-year-old housewife was killed while 30 others were treated in a hospital Sunday due to respiratory problems after inhaling toxic fumes emitted by a fertilizer factory in barangay Pinagbuhatan, Pasig City, officials said yesterday.

Pasig City Mayor Soledad Eusebio created a multi-sectoral task force to determine the real cause of the death of Ana Cahindi, of 38 Salandanan St., Malasaga, Barangay Pinagbuhatan and the continued hospitalization of Jasmina Ann Asuncion, 4, and Michael Soriano, 22. The rest of the victims were sent home after being given first aid treatment.

Relatives of the victims pointed to the LMG Chemicals Corp., a fertilizer plant, located along Eliseo Road, Barangay Kalawaan, as the source of the harmful chemicals that enveloped the neighborhood at about 7:40 p.m. Sunday.

Cahindi was taken to the Pasig City General Hospital after she complained of difficulty in breathing. She died two hours later, report said.

Asuncion and Soriano are now confined at the same hospital. Most of those given first aid treatment were young children.

Antonio Garcia, Chemphil Group chairman of the board, said the sulfuric acid plant was shut down last Friday for repairs.

Garcia admitted that the plant was re-started in the late afternoon of Sunday, and a malfunction occurred on its sulfur feed, minutes before the toxic fumes were monitored in the neighborhood.

They immediately shut down the plant to stop any further air emission, said Garcia. According to Garcia, none of the plant’s personnel complained of respiratory problems.

However, he said, the LMG Chemicals Corp., would provide assistance to the victims.

"It is a well-known fact in the community how LMG has been giving medical and other services throughout the year," said Garcia. "LMG regrets this unfortunate incident and is doing all it can do to assist the residents in whatever way it can."

Eusebio said she created the Task Force on Air Quality and Industrial Pollution to be headed by Councilor Andy Santiago, a former general manager of the Laguna Lake Development Authority (LLDA), to investigate the incident. Among the agencies under the Task Force were the Pasig City Business Permit and Licensing Office and the legal division.

Felix Tajan, a former president of "Magsasaka ng Pasig" claimed that the fertilizer plant had been emitting toxic fumes for some time now which have caused the destruction of their crops.

The joint findings of the LLDA and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), which conducted an investigation months back, showed that the plant’s three reactor chimneys were operating without anti-pollution devices.