After landslide: No water contamination at Kananga River—EMB

PALO, LEYTE, Philippines — There is no contamination of the Kananga River as a result of a landslide-induced busted steam pipeline of the Energy Development Corporation.

This was the assurance of the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) of the DENR-Eastern Visayas following reports of possible leak of chemical element boron via a busted steam pipe caused the March 1 landslide at EDC’s geothermal site in Kananga, Leyte.

The landslide in Pad 409 Upper Mahiao, Barangay Lim-ao in Kananga not only resulted in the death of 14 workers but also busted a steam pipe, which several sectors feared to cause boron to spread to the tributaries leading to the Bao River.

The site of the incident was however just about five kilometers away from Bao River. Kananga town Mayor Elmer Codilla had earlier denied there was water contamination of Kananga River due to the incident.

Based on the initial analysis of the water taken from the Bao River in Kananga, Leyte, there was only low concentration or tolerable amount of boron, according to EMB-8 director Leticia Maceda.

Maceda said boron is a chemical element that is inherent in any water spring. Low presence of boron could serve as a nutrient to plants while its high concentration could lead to stunted growth.

The amount of boron is still below the acceptable standard in the country, which is .75 parts/million, Maceda said. The result of the sampling by the multi-partite monitoring team composed of various government agencies showed that the presence of boron in the river was only .22 parts/million.

The EDC, for its part, also conducted its own analysis on the presence of boron in the river, and the results showed boron content was only .25 parts/million.

Maceda, however, said the EMB submitted the water sample to an independent Manila-based Austria Laboratory, the results of which is expected to arrive anytime. She expressed confidence that the result from the private lab will also yield a similar result.  (FREEMAN)