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ASH FALL FROM COAL-FIRED PLANT WORRIES
VILLAGERS LUCENA CITY, Quezon, Philippines -- Residents of a coastal village near the 735-megawatt coal-fired plant of Mirant Pagbilao Corp. have expressed fears of a shower of black ash purportedly coming from the power facility. Glenn Forbes, program officer of the environmentalist group Tanggol Kalikasan (TK), said he had received information from some residents of Barangay Mayao Castillo here that the power plant had been spewing black ash. The plant is located in Barangay Polo, Pagbilao and southeast of Mayao Castillo in front of the Tayabas Bay. Mirant Pagbilao, a subsidiary of Mirant Philippines Corp., is considered the largest private producer of electricity in the country. Mirant public affairs manager Greggy Romualdez said his company was looking into the TK report. He added that Mirant strictly complies with and even exceeds the implementation of all pertinent environment rules and regulations as mandated by law. A TK team that went to the village on May 12 observed that oily black ashes and dark gray dust were suspended on the leaves and trunks of coconut trees and on the leaves of other fruit trees in the area. "Our gathering of samples was documented on video," Forbes said. The TK report noted that compared to the usual verdant color of coconut leaves, those covered by dark gray ash have turned yellowish to brownish, while young coconuts turned yellowish gold to brownish. "Generally, the gray ashes settled on one side of the trees only (the side facing southeast), suggesting that the material was blown by the wind coming from the east," the report said. The TK team said black ashes were also found in Barangay Alupaye, Pagbilao. The residents told the TK team that the ash shower usually occurred at dusk or nighttime. "Each time ash emission occurred, the residents said they experienced heavy smog at dawn. It's like zero visibility within about 10 meters in the morning," the report quoted some of the village residents. Julio Cuasay, a resident of Mayao Castillo and chair of the Lucena City Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Management Council, said the villagers experienced the ash showers sometime in January and during the first week of May, starting from 10 p.m. to 11 a.m. the day after. He said the ashes came from the plant's chimney. "Our personnel are fully committed to ensuring that our operations will continue to be safe to the environment and to residents. We will take the appropriate measures to rectify any lapse in our operations if and when necessary," Romualdez said in a statement. On Tuesday, Greenpeace activists stormed Mirant's headquarters in Manila with banners branding the US power company as a polluter and climate killer. In a report, Greenpeace said results of tests on ash byproducts taken from Mirant's coal power plants in Toledo City in Cebu province found the presence of mercury, a known carcinogen. A Mirant company official said the mercury emissions of its plant were within "tolerable levels." |