PASAR philosophy: To nurture the environment

ISABEL, Leyte – Picturesque. It’s hard to believe that behind the blue-emerald waters of this fish sanctuary teeming with healthy schools of fish, coral-reef like cliffs and tranquil shores embraced by verdant greens, the country’s only copper smelting and refining company operates almost non-stop, churning out copper cathodes and other copper-based products which with one wrong move, could be a potential environmental disaster.

But there is a slim chance of that happening. The management of the Philippine Associated Smelting and Refining Corp. (PASAR), has gone to extra lengths to ensure it does not unduly disturb and destroy the ecosystems surrounding its plant.

PASAR, a consortium of Philippine investors and Swiss firm, Glencore International AG which acquired 90 percent of the Philippine government’s stake in 1999, processes copper concentrates to produce copper cathodes ( used as raw material for the manufacture of various kinds of electric cables, telecommunication wires, copper shapes and copper-alloy products), dore (an alloy of gold and silver, metals used mainly for jewelry and electronics), sulfuric acid (raw material for chemical fertilizers), selenium (used for textile, glass and photocopying industries), slag (for shipbuilding and similar industries) iron concentrates and gypsum (for manufacturing of cement and copper residues).

Since it began operations in 1983, PASAR’s philosophy has always been to nurture the environment in which it does business.

"The company has always considered the environment in its decision making, planning, project development and operation. And as policy, the company will provide all the resources that are required to protect the environment," said Ricardo G. Santiago, PASAR vice-president for human resource management and plant administration.

He noted that while other companies may consider environment protection projects as merely additional expenses without value-added, PASAR views these projects as investments for the future.

"Not only do we save our environment from degradation, but in sustaining the environment, this would redound to gainful employment to our employees and the surrounding communities," explained Santiago.

To date, the company has spent almost P1 billion for its environmental projects. The environment protection program of the company is geared toward minimizing discharges, containment, recyling and proper collection of material waste for conversion to saleable products.

In its production activities, PASAR generates large quantities of sulfur dioxide which is processed into sulfuric acid. Its sulfuric acid plant is considered as its most important pollution control facility. It was installed to prevent discharging substantial amounts of sulfur dioxide to the atmosphere and its cost is almost 40 percent of the smelter complex.

Converting sulfur dioxide gas into sulfuric acid produces a vital material needed in the production of fertilizer which it sells to Philippine Phosphate Fertilizer Corp. which also operates at the Leyte Industrial Development Estate. Recently the plant was rehabilitated to the tune of $4 million.

Last year, PASAR allocated P176 million for setting up "converter fugitive gas hoods" in the smelter. The project addressed the perennial problem of inefficient collection of escape gases from the converter furnace operations, which affected the working environment and the employee’s working conditions in the facility.

Another recent investment is the $4.6-million installation of electrostatic precipitators that collects dust from flue gases.

To improve its waste disposal system, it employs a three-stage liquid waste treatment facility using hydrated lime to precipitate the pollutants. The solids collected are bagged and stored in a sealed concrete bunker. These materials will be recycled in the future to recover valuable metal contents.

"In the past, the by-products with no market and commercial value were stored in lime-lined landfill and covered with soil. Now, through the concrete bunkers, we are able to store the materials above ground, are encapsulated in concrete allowing easy inspection of these materials’ entobment," explained Santiago.

PASAR also spent $218,000 for the construction of settling and cementation ponds on different strategic locations to collect valuable metal bearing solids and prevent siltation of the shoreline.

"The ponds also serves as a loss control facility in a sense that all solids that settled inside the pond are periodically retrieved and recycled back to the process to recover valuable metals. Thus, solids which could have ended and affected the receiving body because of the plant’s discharges, were prevented by the settling ponds," stressed Santiago.

PASAR also supported projects such as the establisment of a five-hectare fish sanctuary at the outfall of the plant’s discharges. The sanctuary was imbedded with artificial reefs, serving as breeding place for various kinds of fish.

An ongoing concern is the rehabilitation of mangrove areas around the plant. The project, started two years ago, is aimed at replacing the denuded portion of the shoreline affected by the plant’s activities for the past 20 years. So far, about 2,000 mangrove trees were planted in the vicinity of the plant and by year’s end hopes to cover an area of about five to seven hectares.

Santiago said that these activities are being done to improve plant operations, its efficiency and working conditions, while protecting the environment and the marine ecological system in the area.

"Our corporate goal is holistic in nature. Our focus has been to achieve economic gains without endangering the environment. That’s why we go the extra mile to produce quality products which at the same time satisfies government environment laws," noted Santiago.

At the end of a hard day’s work, it is typical to see employees taking a breather at the cliffs’ edge overlooking the fish sanctuary, just cooling their heels while watching the fiery red-orange sun slowly disappear into the horizon. It’s an awesome sight. It’s a statement that environment protection and heavy industrial operations can mingle.