16 November 2007
LEGAZPI CITY—CYANIDE LEVELS IN THE island town of Rapu-Rapu in Albay were found to be “tolerable” and “had no effect on marine life,” according to the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources.
It said test results were supposed to be key to determining the cause of the fishkill reported on Oct. 28 by groups blaming the mining operations of Lafayette Philippines Inc. for a recent fishkill.
LPI runs a 180-hectare open-pit copper and zinc mine occupying almost 80 percent of the island town of Rapu-Rapu, east of this city.
Bert Borbe, fisheries and resource management division chief of BFAR-Bicol, however, clarified that the agency could not clear the Australian-owned mining company of any involvement in the fishkill.
The BFAR team deployed to Rapu-Rapu gathered fish and water samples in the area on Oct. 30, two days after the fishkill was reported.
Borbe said the samples, upon reaching the BFAR central office in Manila, were already decaying and were no longer fit for analysis.
Only water samples were tested for cyanide and mercury, he said.
Borbe said the BFAR had not yet established the cause of the fishkill so it was proposing more tests.
“We need to conduct deeper underwater analysis, but it’s something we cannot conduct outright due to financial constraints,” Borbe said in a mobile phone interview.
He said more advanced tests were needed to find out possible contaminants on the sand, stone and other elements from the sea floor. Ephraim Aguilar, Inquirer Southern Luzon
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