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PHILIPPINES: Toxic ferry adds to health worries
29 Jun 2008 10:21:21 GMT
 Source: IRIN
SIBUYEN ISLAND, 29 June 2008 (IRIN) - Dan Febreo, a 68-year-old retired village official, is drying family pictures on a shattered wooden bench, his broken fridge occupying a sandy patch that used to be the family room of his modest home. It was swallowed up by huge waves at the height of Typhoon Fengshen on 21-23 June.

Nearby fishermen are trying to salvage what remains of their nets and boats, and the roads around this remote central Philippine island remain littered with fallen trees and rocks washed down from a nearby mountainside. The long coastline is also littered with debris washed ashore.

Food is quickly running out, with fishermen, their boats damaged and destroyed, unable to venture out. Temporary rations are difficult to obtain because they have to be transported by small motorised boats from the nearest port some distance away.

"I spent a lifetime building my house and now it is gone," Febreo told IRIN. "This is the first time this has happened to us here in Sibuyan," he said. "We need help from the government, even as we are trying to do our best to rebuild from scratch."

Some 1,000 houses, mostly made of light material, were destroyed in this tiny isolated island. Many belonged to subsistence fishermen and farmers, who have now lost their possessions and their livelihoods. The typhoon, according to government authorities, displaced more than two million people mostly in the central Visayas and Mindanao island chains and killed 629.

Toxic chemicals

An overloaded ferry with over 860 passengers sank at the height of the typhoon, with only a handful of survivors. The government has temporarily called off the search for casualties after discovering toxic chemicals inside the cargo hull that could potentially threaten salvage crews and rescue divers.

The toxic cargo, which government authorities identified as endosulfan, is a pesticide used in agriculture. Endosulfan is a neurotoxic organochlorine banned in the European Union, Cambodia, and elsewhere, while its use is restricted in other countries, including the Philippines.

As fears mounted that it could leak into the sea, the government ordered search and retrieval operations to cease and issued a health warning to communities on the nearby island.

"It is good that they are doing everything they can to get to the bodies trapped inside, but there are other people in need of help too," Febreo told IRIN. "We need food, clothing for our children and medicine. Any help is welcome," Febreo said.

Across the strait on Panay Island, tens of thousands of families are reportedly in need of shelter and medical treatment after entire towns and cities were flooded, including the business hubs of Iloilo and Jaro cities on Panay. As waters receded, they left behind a thick coating of mud and dirt that is now threatening to cause widespread diseases, according to health authorities.

Access to potable water is limited, and a state of emergency has been declared on Panay Island. US forces, which were deployed from Okinawa, Japan, are helping to bring in much-needed relief supplies.

Provincial administrator Manuel Mejorada said US Seahawk helicopters were to fly bags of rice to remote islands around Panay that remain cut off from aid due to the rough seas nearly a week after Typhoon Fengshen lashed the islands.

"We need additional help. This is a terrible tragedy that has caused the loss of many lives and livelihoods," said the mayor of San Fernando town on Sibuyan Island, Nanette Tansingco.

The Health Secretary, Francisco Duque, advised residents of Sibuyan not to fish in the area to prevent exposure to the toxic chemical from the ferry.

"Presently there are no observable signs of endosulfan contamination in and around the waters of the ship such as dead fish, or divers getting sick. Despite this, diving and recovery operations have been aborted," Duque said.

"There are now efforts to assess the exposure of divers and possible illnesses in case there was, indeed, an endosulfan exposure. Fish and other marine life harvested from that area are now considered not fit for human consumption." he said.

"The health department has set up disease surveillance to monitor the health of residents in the area," he said.

jg/bj/mw

© IRIN. All rights reserved. More humanitarian news and analysis: http://www.IRINnews.org


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Philippine soldiers load sacks of rice onto a US military helicopter as part of relief operations following Typhoon Fengshen at an airport in Iloilo City central Philippines June 28, 2008. The ...


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Last updated:Sun Jun 29 10:22:08 2008