Toxic Alam in Mauban

Calaca, Batangas- Activist from the Greenpeace Southeast Asia held a press conference August 30 at the ash pond where toxic byproducts of the 600-megawatt coal-fired power plant of the National Power Corporation are deposited. They hope to convey the message "Coal Kills." At least 17 members of the group planted 200 white crosses in the barren ash field of the Napocor plant to dramatize the toxic pollution associated with coal-fired plants. Representatives of the Crusade for Sustainable Environment based in Mauban, Quezon, which opposes the operation of a similar coal-fired power plant in their community, were also present to express their solidarity. Red Constantino of the Greenpeace explained that communities surrounding the coal plant are potential graveyards. According to him, reports conducted by the Philippine Institute for Pure and Applied Chemistry confirmed the presence of "neurotoxin mercury" in ash dumped by Napocor on open fields beside the plant. Mercury is so dangerous that it takes only 1/70th of a teaspoon of it to contaminate a 62-hectare lake. Aside from Calaca plant, the country also operates a 1, 200-megawatt plant in Sual, Pangasinan; a 40-megawatt plant in Mauban, Quezon; a 700-megawatt station in Pagbilao, Quezon; and a 700-megawatt station in Zambales.