Previous Story
DPH warns against Tanapag land crabs
|
Posted on Oct 03 2000
The Department of Public Health will issue an advisory this week warning people against consuming land crabs taken from Tanapag after preliminary test showed that eight land crabs from the cemetery were found contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyl.
While there was no significant sampling made in the testing conducted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 9 in May of this year, DPH Secretary Joseph Kevin Villagomez believes that the people should be discouraged from eating land crabs until a more extensive evaluation has been conducted.
“You have to let the people know that if the crabs are contaminated, then they should not consume the crabs for their safety,” he said.
Cemetery No. 2 at Lower Base is currently the subject of a massive cleanup due to high level PCB contamination. The US Army Corps contractor Environmental Chemical Corp is carrying out the cleanup so that the cemetery can be open to the public this coming All Soul’s Day.
U.S. EPA Region 9 will seek the assistance of a panel of experts which include representatives from the Center for Disease Control to help design a follow-up survey that will help aid the local officials in making further decisions.
Mr. Villagomez said the advisory will explain the plan of the Division of Environmental Quality and EPA in carrying out further evaluation on the land crabs so that the people would be informed of the steps being undertaken by environment officials.
The eight land crabs taken from Cemetery No. 2 were among the samples of food gathered five months ago by EPA representatives as part of the assessment on the food and the environment in the village. The sample survey was designed to look for areas where there’s high PCB concentration and to characterize the overall quality of food.
Food items such as taro, yam, clams, chicken eggs and fish did not yield any PCB level during the testing. Laboratory results of groundwater samples taken from Tanapag and Lower Base yielded “non-detect” PCB levels.
Over 450 samples of soil, water and food grown in Tanapag were sent to the mainland for laboratory testing in connection with the comprehensive environmental analysis of the village for PCB contamination. (LFR)
