Chemical firm slammed for polluting Laguna Lake

MANILA, Philippines - Environmental activists recently staged a protest against a company allegedly polluting Laguna Lake.

Greenpeace members put a label on the fence of TNC Chemicals Philippines with the words “water polluter.” They also unfurled a banner showing the different hazardous chemicals identified in a sampling report by the organization to be causing pollution in Laguna Lake.

Beau Baconguis, Toxics Campaigner for Greenpeace-Southeast Asia, said laboratory results confirm the presence of chromium, nickel and copper above normal levels in the water.

“Another sample showed high concentration of a variety of carcinogenic organic compounds as well as some carboxylic acid esters,” Baconguis said.

“Industries that dump toxic chemicals are depriving Filipinos of clean and safe water. The results show there are far too many chemicals that find their way into our water without our knowledge. Worse, these chemicals such as the ones we found in the samples from TNC discharge pipes, are not routinely tested by government,” she said.

The labelling of TNC’s facility was part of the series of activities in protest of industrial pollution under Greenpeace’s “Right-to-Know Water Patrol Expedition.”

The expedition, launched this month, aims to expose water polluters, investigate and document potential polluters along Marikina River and Laguna Lake and draw support for the enactment of policies to bring down toxic pollution to zero levels.

Greenpeace has been calling on the Department of Environment and Natural Resources to expand the priority chemicals list to include substances that have been proven to be toxic, immediately phase out these hazardous chemicals with specific timelines and establish a pollution disclosure system.

The Greenpeace also called on TNC Chemicals Philippines and other industries to stop dumping toxic chemicals into water bodies, to take responsibility for their pollution and disclose the chemicals they use.