PCB CONTAMINATION Teno wants more than environmental study

Expressing relief over efforts by both federal and local agencies to address the polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) contamination in Tanapag, Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio underscored the need to follow up on such measures to safeguard the health of village residents.

The chief executive met yesterday morning with officials of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the CNMI Division of Environmental Quality to keep abreast with a risk assessment study to be undertaken in Tanapag.

They told Mr. Tenorio that a group will be arriving on May 2 to collect samples of soil, water, root crops, fish, crabs and others from the area believed to be contaminated with the highly-toxic chemicals left behind by the U.S. military.

The governor welcomed the move, noting that “at least we know that the federal government is doing something to… find out what will be the impact on the community in Tanapag.”

But he stressed such tests on the contamination level should result to more tangible actions to ensure safety and health of villagers. “We have to re-assess, not only to take the samples… but what actions should be done to make sure that whatever the results of the tests… something needs to be done,” Mr. Tenorio said.

Both EPA and DEQ also assured the island government that other appropriate agencies will be flying in to Saipan to help find solution to the environmental problem.

Mr. Tenorio said that he met during his visit last week to American Samoa with officials of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers who pledged to visit the island again to assist the authorities in resolving the issues.

Amid federal and local efforts to ease fears of serious PCB contamination in Tanapag, international environmental group Greenpeace has declared the northern coastal village a “global toxic hot spot” to draw attention to the problem.

The organization has urged the U.S. government to immediately clean up the area as it noted that initial efforts were “pitiful” despite discovery of high presence of PCB in the village.

The highly toxic chemicals were contained in the electrical capacitors left behind by the U.S. military in the 1960s. These capacitors were later used by villagers as boundary markers, road blocks for driveways, windbreaks for barbecue sites and headstones. Some capacitors were found open as their inner phenolic linings were used to decorate rooftops and cemeteries in the village.

The Army Corps has claimed that it was able to clear the contaminated area in 1997, although it has yet to clean up the Lower Base cemetery where a high concentration of PCB was found, as it left behind piles of highly contaminated soil.

The government last year closed off the cemetery to the public to protect them for possible contamination and to allow the Army Corps and local agencies to carry out temporary measures to reduce the risks.