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BY Haidee V. Eugenio, Marianas Variety/PINA Nius Online SAIPAN, Northern Mariana Islands, 7 March 2001 -- A contaminated NorthernMarianas village is circulating an island-wide petition for the shipment to the U.S. of all polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) wastes taken fromthe island. At least 4,000 non-residents of Tanapag are expected to affix their signatures on the petition to convey their support to thevillagers’ united stand. They are against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed on-sitetreatment and destruction of PCB wastes. PCBs are a cancer-causing man-made chemical. There has been continuing controversy over their presence in the Tanapagarea on Saipan and their effects on local people. The United States Department of Defense used PCB in a radar station in the area in the 1960s. Juan I. Tenorio, chairman of the Tanapag Action Group, said "The PCB issue is not confined to the village of Tanapag. This is a concern of everybody. We respectfully request Saipanresidents to stand behind Tanapag villagers’ decision, so that the environment and health of the entire people of the CNMI will beprotected." The petition will then be sent to Christine Whitman, the new administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency inWashington, D.C., and to Gale Norton, the new Secretary of the Interior. "We strongly believe that this off-island treatment and disposal is the best option available to the well being and health ofthe people of Tanapag," the petition partly reads. The Army Corps of Engineers, along with its contractor, Hawai‘i-based Environmental Chemical Corp., is proposing to treatand dispose the PCB contaminated soil on site. The effectiveness of the process it plans to use has been questioned. No final decision has been reached yet on the treatment and disposal methods that will be used on some 20,000 tons ofPCB contaminated soil. Meanwhile, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has called on residents to help identify unmarked graves at the cemeterynear the Tanapag Elementary School to prepare the area for further excavations. With the possibility of digging deeper into the cemetery site, the Army Corps said human bones might accidentally beunearthed and destroyed in the process, due to the unmarked graves. Frank Ono of the Army Corps said the PCB contamination in Tanapag has become "wider" and "deeper" as they continuetheir excavation and remediation works. Pacific Islands News Association (PINA) Website http//www.pinanius.org FAIR USE NOTICE. This document contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. The Basel Action Network is making this article available in our efforts to advance understanding of ecological sustainability and environmental justice issues. We believe that this constitutes a `fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond `fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. More News |
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