NO TRACES OF 'AGENT ORANGE' IN SUBIC
Officials of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) assured residents, investors and visitors to the Subic Bay Freeport Zone yesterday that there are no traces of "Agent Orange," a toxic chemical used by the United States military in the Vietnam War, in the former American naval base.
Reynaldo Garcia, SBMA public relations office head, told The STAR that a news report saying that Agent Orange was shipped from New Zealand to Vietnam through the former Subic military base "should not be a cause for alarm."
Garcia said the report originated from a New Zealand official who was quoted as saying that "products used to make Agent Orange were shipped from New Plymouth to Subic Bay in the Philippines."
The report added that Agent Orange, which was used as a defoliant to reduce enemy forest cover in Vietnam, contained dioxin which poses increased risk of cancers, immuno-deficiencies, reproductive and developmental changes, nervous disorders and other health effects.
SBMA health officials, however, said there was "no indication that the chemical was actually handled or stored in Subic before deployment to Vietnam."
Ameth de la Llana, SBMA’s Ecology Center head, said the results of the 1996 Environmental Baseline Study (EBS) of the Subic Bay Freeport Zone did not mention any presence of Agent Orange or any similar chemical in all the sites most likely to be contaminated.
The EBS "also did not identify widespread, severe contamination of soils, groundwater or sediments resulting from US naval operations," De la Llana said.
The study, conducted by international environmental consultant Woodward-Clyde was in accordance with globally accepted standards for site contamination assessment such as scanning for a broad range of potential contaminants.
It also reviewed past land uses and activities at the former US naval base and assessed the conditions of the forest, mangroves, marine resources, air and surface water of the freeport.
The study concluded that the concentration of chemicals found in soils from 44 sites investigated "does not pose a major risk to human health" but merely "a negligible risk to health of the current and future non-residential occupiers or users of the sites due to lack of identified exposure pathways."
There was also "no evidence of potentially unacceptable health risk to people living off-site," the study said.
Reynaldo Garcia, SBMA public relations office head, told The STAR that a news report saying that Agent Orange was shipped from New Zealand to Vietnam through the former Subic military base "should not be a cause for alarm."
Garcia said the report originated from a New Zealand official who was quoted as saying that "products used to make Agent Orange were shipped from New Plymouth to Subic Bay in the Philippines."
The report added that Agent Orange, which was used as a defoliant to reduce enemy forest cover in Vietnam, contained dioxin which poses increased risk of cancers, immuno-deficiencies, reproductive and developmental changes, nervous disorders and other health effects.
SBMA health officials, however, said there was "no indication that the chemical was actually handled or stored in Subic before deployment to Vietnam."
Ameth de la Llana, SBMA’s Ecology Center head, said the results of the 1996 Environmental Baseline Study (EBS) of the Subic Bay Freeport Zone did not mention any presence of Agent Orange or any similar chemical in all the sites most likely to be contaminated.
The EBS "also did not identify widespread, severe contamination of soils, groundwater or sediments resulting from US naval operations," De la Llana said.
The study, conducted by international environmental consultant Woodward-Clyde was in accordance with globally accepted standards for site contamination assessment such as scanning for a broad range of potential contaminants.
It also reviewed past land uses and activities at the former US naval base and assessed the conditions of the forest, mangroves, marine resources, air and surface water of the freeport.
The study concluded that the concentration of chemicals found in soils from 44 sites investigated "does not pose a major risk to human health" but merely "a negligible risk to health of the current and future non-residential occupiers or users of the sites due to lack of identified exposure pathways."
There was also "no evidence of potentially unacceptable health risk to people living off-site," the study said.
posted by OlongapoCity Zambales at
9:55 PM
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