Reyes orders probe of mercury pollution in Vizcaya village

BAYOMBONG, Nueva Vizcaya — The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has ordered an investigation into recent findings of mercury contamination reportedly caused by illegal small-scale mining in a remote mineral-rich village in Kasibu town.

Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Angelo Reyes also directed the regional and provincial environment officials to immediately take action against those behind the despoliation of natural resources in Barangay Didipio, a mountain village at the Nueva Vizcaya-Quirino boundary.

"We are committed to promote a clean and healthy environment and at the same time protect our natural resources from undue exploitation," he said.

He gave assurance that the DENR will strictly enforce all environmental regulations in mining.

Reyes’ order came after earlier tests showed that the blood samples of some Didipio residents were found positive for mercury.

This, as the village’s major rivers — Camgat, Surong and Didipio — which are the residents’ major sources of potable water and irrigation, were found contaminated with the deadly substance used by the illegal small-scale miners, initial findings of the state-run Nueva Vizcaya State University (NVSU) showed.

The National Science Research Institute (NSRI) at the University of the Philippines confirmed the findings.

The blood samples taken from some Didipio residents were subjected to another round of tests at the St. Luke’s Medical Center in Quezon City, and the NVSU’s findings were validated.

Quirino Gov. Pedro Bacani condemned the rampant illegal small-scale mining in Didipio, particularly in the gold and copper-rich Dinkidi Hill, which straddles Kasibu town and neighboring Quirino.

"We cannot tolerate such unregulated mining. Besides, these illegal small-scale miners do not pay taxes," he said.

But what worries Bacani the most is the threat of massive soil erosion or landslides that would not only affect the immediate communities but those downstream, especially in the lowlands of the Quirino towns of Nagtipunan, Cabarroguis, and Aglipay.

For her part, Nueva Vizcaya Gov. Luisa Lloren-Cuaresma called on the authorities to immediately put a stop to the illegal mining, which has also resulted in the deaths of many small-scale miners due to suffocation in crudely made tunnels and indiscriminate blasting using unregulated explosives.

"We have to put a stop to these activities to prevent miners from invading us. We don’t want to transform Nueva Vizcaya into another Mt. Diwalwal," she said, referring to the gold-rush site in Compostela Valley where unregulated small-scale mining had resulted in countless deaths.

Small-scale miners use mercury to extract gold and indiscriminately dump the water containing the hazardous substance into rivers.

Vapors from heated mercury are toxic. Eighty percent of what is inhaled is retained by the body, dissolved in fatty tissue, and could damage the central nervous system. 

The DENR’s Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB), which earlier sought the dismantling of all the structures and tunnels put up by the small-scale miners, said mercury exposure also causes damage to the kidney, the cardiovascular and immune systems, brain, spinal cord, and liver.

Also, human intake of mercury-contaminated fish, accumulated over time, could impair a person’s ability to feel, see, move and taste, causing numbness and tunnel vision and eventually leading to coma and death. Mercury intake by a pregnant woman could cause disorders in both the mother and the unborn child.

Illegal small-scale mining has been going on for many years in Didipio, but heightened last year after the government approved the large-scale mining project in the area of the Australian firm Climax Arimco Mining Corp.

Climax Arimco’s local subsidiary, the Australasian Philippines Mining Inc. (APMI), will directly operate the multibillion-peso Didipio gold-copper project.

The DENR wants all illegal mining structures in the area to be dismantled to pave the way for APMI’s expected start of operation in September.