There is no doubt the mining sector can be a huge boost to economic growth if managed properly. Because of our country’s huge reserves of natural resources, sustainable mining could be one of the top recipients of foreign investment and a main job generator.
However, safe and responsible mining is something that has yet to become the norm here in the Philippines, which has seen some of the worst mining disasters.
The Marcopper mining disaster in 1996, for instance, killed the Boac River in Marinduque and left a trail of destruction so devastating that a United Nations assessment mission declared it one of the worst environmental disasters ever, one that still poses problems today.
A recent story in this paper, written by our correspondent Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco, described how people living near the Marcopper Mining Co. site in Marinduque are still suffering from the mine tailings that polluted their land and water, and how the Department of Health in Mimaropa is still studying the extent of the heavy-metal poisoning (HMP) among the residents.
Mimaropa is composed of the provinces of Oriental Mindoro, Occidental Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon and Palawan.
“Because of the effects of mine tailings brought about by the 1996 Marcopper incident in Marinduque, the health and well-being of residents have been greatly affected, especially those residing near the mining area. We have to know how serious their condition is, if they really are contaminated or not,” Regional Director Eduardo C. Janairo said.
“They have been neglected for decades now and yet we still don’t know who are the affected individuals needing immediate treatment. That is why we have initiated this training [called ‘Training on Identification Management and Referral of Patients with HMP for Medical Doctors and Public Health Nurses on HMP’], so that we can properly identify and monitor these individuals and establish a surveillance and referral system that will provide them the health care they need,” he said.
HMP is caused by the accumulation of certain metals in the body due to exposure through food, water, industrial chemicals or other sources. Undue amounts of zinc, copper, chromium, iron and manganese are harmful to the body.
Marinduque and Palawan are among the provinces in Mimaropa where heavy copper- and mercury-mine tailings are found.
“It is time we provide a solution to this health concern not only in Marinduque and Palawan but in all areas of the country where mining activities exist so that we can prevent HMP contamination and protect the health of our countrymen,” Janairo said.
There is clearly a need not only to boost government revenues from mining but also to improve environmental standards in the industry.
There is a wide gap existing between the enforcement of environmental laws and the reality of fixing our environmental problems, as the Marcopper mining disaster has shown 21 years after.
To ensure more environmental protection, government mining policies must be supported by a law on environmental remediation.
Environmental remediation is the process of removing contaminants, pollutants or toxins from adversely affected environments, to minimize risks to the surrounding ecology and human population.
There have been several environmental accidents to date but the process of restoring the contaminated area, facility or community and preserving natural resources has pretty much relied on the responsibility of the companies that were involved in the accidents.
But how many companies are responsible enough?
For instance, not a single centavo had been paid as compensation for the Marcopper disaster, not by Marcopper or its parent company, Barrick Gold Corp., and it is the worst mining disaster this country has ever known.
Environmental remediation is very costly. Many mining companies, not just here but all over the world, try everything, including bribing government officials, to escape financial liability for the damage they cause to the environment; or they just pack up and run, catch them if you can.
While we do have a number of environmental laws and regulations, a law on environmental remediation would be crucial for making sure that work and living environments are safe for people, and that contaminants are dealt with properly after mining companies have left the communities where they operated.
Good practices must be followed not just for the opening of the mine but until the final closure and restoration of the site.