Previous Story
The Tanapag PCB Test
|
Posted on Oct 25 2000
The Issue: The people of Tanapag have gone through some blood test to determine presence of PCB.
Our View: They have every right to know the results of the test forthwith; it’s their health!
The mixed signals about the level of PCB in Tanapag is troubling. One report says the PCB level is such that it isn’t dangerous anymore. Yet, another report finds that land crabs have tested positive.
Unless this issue is clarified and resolved, the two differing reports would have done nothing but build suspicion on the safety of the village and adjacent areas.
If the PCB level is safe, how could experts explain land crabs testing positive of this toxic material? That the land crab is part of the food chain of the indigenous people logically tells us that the transfer or spread of contamination of this toxic material has occurred on people who live in and outside the village who hunt for land crabs need on full-moon-lit nights for more than three decades.
This issue warrants resolution in that it reminds many of the test results of the people of the Republic of the Marshalls who were tested annually since the mid-forties. We know what happened in recent years: The test taken by a combined group of federal agencies are allegedly found to be inaccurate in terms of the presence of radiation in the blood of our brothers and sisters from the far corner of Micronesia.
The intervention of a religious group ever determined to seek justice on this matter should go a long way in righting an injustice riddled with inaccurate test results.
We’re not accusing anyone of foot-dragging on a matter of grave concern to villagers. But we all know the years of PCB presence in various sites in the village and the effects it may have inflicted on young kids or even the older folks who have no inkling that PCB is a cancer causing material. Let’s be forthright about the findings and share them with the villagers. Si Yuus Maase`!
