November 27, 2007 · Posted in: i Report Features, Image Galleries
The toxic stew that kills a river system
BY sight, people who live along its banks have long known that their river is dying. Its thick stench constantly hangs in the air, like a corpse that remains unburied.
The Marilao, Meycauayan and Obando river system has been identified recently by the Blacksmith Institute, a New York-based environmental watchdog, as one of the filthiest places on earth.
“Industrial waste is haphazardly dumped into the Marilao, Meycauayan and Obando river system, a source of drinking and agricultural water supplies for the 250,000 people living in and around this suburb of Manila,” Blacksmith Institute’s 2007 report said. “Carcinogenic hexavalent chromium, lead, and human sewage are just a few components of this toxic stew,” it added.
Local government officials, business leaders and community groups have taken notice, and have begun a process to revive the river, which may take years or decades of efforts and commitment.
This slide show is a multimedia supplement of PCIJ’s Power and Poisons series.
[kml_flashembed movie=”http://pcij.org/blog/wp-galleries/marilao-river.swf” height=”299″ width=”450″ /]
2 Responses to The toxic stew that kills a river system
tongue in, anew
November 28th, 2007 at 7:55 am
Alecks, I wish someone would check on the numerous industrial subdivisions, ecozones, or just those clusters of factories in Valenzuela, Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, and Rizal.
A huge majority do not have waste-water treatment plants. You won’t believe how much water-borne metal compounds are discharged daily into the rivers. Metal treatment chemicals used for cleaning, derusting, and decorative purposes usually contain acids and cyanides that flow from sewage to creeks to the rivers/seas. Imagine the amount of metals seeping into the soil, later into the water tables where some people get their drinking water. Some metals that get trapped in the soil are dissolved in acid rain which is common in the metro and suburbs and again are carried to these water bodies. Think about drinking that!
It won’t be long when we would eat shrimps clad in metal armor, no?
art5011er
November 28th, 2007 at 8:09 am
Regrettable neglect.