NGO airs warning against microcircuit pollution

“As major markets (USA and Japan) for a major export product of the country (microcircuits) fall into recession and thousands of employees are retrenched, cost cuts by the microcircuits industry here might end up in more dumping of mold runner wastes,” warned Roger Birosel, secretary-general of Earth Savers Movement.

Microcircuit exports, which make up 80 percent of total country’s exports, dropped 20 percent from October 2007 to 2008. It is expected to further drop in 2009 because of the global recession.

“This softening would cause companies to reduce costs,” explained Arthur Young, chairman of the semiconductor and Electronics Industries in the Philippines (SEIPI). “Production cost cutting will include shorter work weeks, layoffs and subcontracting.”

“It’s the illegal disposal of mold runners, a flammable toxic plastic that worried me because tons and tons are generated by the microcircuit industry in making circuit boards for digitial appliances from cell phones to compu-ters,” countered Birosel.

The Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) previously reclassified mold runners from toxic and hazardous waste into special waste and mandated that only duly certified waste treaters or recyclers should handle this “special waste.” EMB further mandated that this “special waste” should not be dumped in the few certified landfills because of their huge volume (thousands of tons) yearly. More so, they should not be dumped in illegal dumpsites and specified that generators will be held responsible if this is violated.

“Unfortunately, the National Solid Waste Management Commission (NSWMC) has hardly paid attention to this ‘special waste’ which, more often than not, are either mixed with regular municipal waste or just hauled by easy-to-register truck haulers or by scrap dealers instead of certified treaters or recyclers. The result? Illegal dumping of thousands of tons of mold runners yearly,” explained Birosel.

If even before this year’s global recession, microcircuit companies were already cost cutting by not following EMB-required treatment of waste mold runner, it doesn’t take a genius to foretell more rampant mold runner waste dumping,“ Birosel warned. “We much therefore double our effort and be extra vigilant now that microcircuit companies experiencing business difficulties might be temped to resort to illegal dumping in order to cut cost,” Birosel added.