MANILA, Philippines – The chemical fumes from a plastics plant that had spread a nauseous odor in parts of Quezon City and Pasig has been “contained,” according to a QC official.

“It has been contained but they’re still continuously doing the cooling operations,” said Karl Marasigan, officer-in-charge of the city’s Disaster Control Division told Rappler on Monday, November 23.

He was referring to efforts to prevent the further release of fumes from the plant of plastics manufacturing company D&L Industries Inc located in #65 Calle Industria in Bagumbayan village, Quezon City – walking distance from subdivisions, condominiums, and commercial hub Eastwood City.

The nauseous smell that residents complained about at 11:30 pm on Sunday night, November 22, were from a chemical called styrene, used in making plastic products, said Marasigan.

Company officials told him that the fumes were due to the solidification of the chemical which is usually in a liquid state. The solidification process caused the release of fumes from one of two monomer tanks.

The company reported that they were able to confine the fumes by 4:30 pm on Sunday but later that night, at 11:30 pm, Quezon City Hall got calls from residents about a foul smell.

“So we went back with the Bureau of Fire Protection Hazardous Material Team to check. We helped with the cooling operations, to prevent it from getting the higher temperature which is dangerous. There are mechanisms for this type of incident, like sprinklers, together with water from the fire trucks,” he said.

As of posting, the strong smell observed by residents on Monday night has significantly abated. However, the odor could still be detected at the gate of the D&L Industries plant.

Two days to comply

The company has two days to comply with recommendations made by the QC government’s environmental protection department.

“If they’re not going to comply within the next two days about the recommendations then we’ll see if they have violations,” said Marasigan.

The two major recommendations are the installment of a shower curtain “to contain the area, so the fumes don’t spread,” and additional sprinklers under the tanks, said Marasigan. At the moment, the company only has sprinklers for the top area of the tank. 

Marasigan said the local government is yet to determine if the company violated any rules and should be fined or punished.

“Let’s just see if they violated. So far the company has been working together with the QC government. We checked all the permits, they complied with all permits,” he added.

The company’s in-house fire brigade and response team were the first at attempts to contain the fumes, said Marasigan.

5 families evacuated 

Five families in Barangay Bagumbayan had to be evacuated Sunday night to Monday morning because of the smell, said Marasigan.

So far, 3 barangays in Quezon City have been affected with complaints from Bagumbayan, Ugong Norte, and Rosario. But villages in Pasig City also observed the door.

Members of the Philippine Red Cross were in the area near the plant to assist any residents affected by the fumes.

According to the United States Environment Protection Agency (US EPA), short-term exposure to styrene can result in “mucous membrane irritation, eye irritation, and gastrointestinal effects.” – Rappler.com