DENR urged to check pollution of Agno River
THE help of Department of Environment and Natural Resources is being sought to check the level of contamination in Dagupan City’s river system, lakes and fishponds largely affected by the water that flows from the tributaries of Agno River.
Councilor Dennis Canto, chairman of the Committee on Health and Sanitation, filed a resolution Monday night seeking the intervention of DENR specifically to direct the examination of water samples from Agno River.
He said the contamination of Agno River that has affected “a substantial portion of the environmental contamination in the City of Dagupan, is caused by unabated anthropogenic activities such as mining and smelting operations, industrial production and use and domestic and agricultural use of metals and metal-containing compounds occurring within the city’s territorial limits and in nearby places, such as Benguet and other Cordillera provinces.”
Canto expressed concern that as scientific studies and investigations have shown “that excessive human exposure to heavy metals in the environment, including rivers and other bodies of water, could produce cellular and tissue damage leading to a variety of adverse health effects in humans, including cardiovascular diseases, developmental abnormalities, neurologic and neurobehavioral disorders, diabetes, hearing loss, hematologic and immunologic disorders and various types of cancer.”
He warned that the toxicity and carcinogenicity of metals such as arsenic, cadmium, chromium, lead and mercury “can cause possible multiple organ damage, even at lower levels of exposure.”
He said, the DENR, thru its Environmental Management Bureau, is mandated to implement national environmental laws, such as Presidential Decree No. 1586 (Environmental Impact Statement System), Republic Act No. 6969 (Toxic Substances and Hazardous and Nuclear Waste Control Act of 1990) and Republic Act No. 9275 (Philippine Clean Water Act of 2004) among others.
He also lauded the appointment of Regina Lopez as secretary-designate of the DENR, being a staunch advocate for the protection of the country’s environment. (Tita Roces)
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