Cement plant spills 2,000 liters of bunker oil into Rizal river

MANILA, Philippines – A leak in a cement company’s fuel storage tank is suspected of releasing an estimated 2,000 liters of bunker fuel into a river system in Rizal province, raising concerns that it may reach Laguna Lake.

Solid Cement Corporation made the statement on Wednesday, September 9, based on its initial investigation on the incident that had been traced to its cement plant in Antipolo.

“Initial investigation showed that the leak was from a fuel storage tank located at the Solid Cement Plant in Antipolo City. It appears that the strong gusts of wind and heavy downpour from last night caused the leak to reach the Kaynaog Creek leading to the Tagbak River,” said Chito Maniago, Solid Cement communications director.

The Philippine Coast Guard reported that its Laguna de Bay Station received a call from Jerome Mateo of the Morong local government on Tuesday morning, September 8, to report an oil spill in the vicinity of the Teresa River.

The PCG said its team, along with representatives from the Marine Environmental Protection, discovered “that a large amount of bunker oil approximately two thousand (2,000) liters (10 drums) of bunker oil spilled at the said river.”

The initial investigation showed that the oil spill came from Solid Cement, located at Sitio Tagbac, Barangay San Jose in Antipolo. The PCG team was also informed that traces of the oil spill was found on the Morong River in Barangay Poblacion, Morong, which it later confirmed.

The Morong River is the nearest tributary leading to Laguna Lake, the PCG said.

The team took oil samples from both sites before proceeding to the cement factory for an inspection. It also took oil samples from the facility as part of its investigation.

After the factory inspection, the PCG issued an inspection apprehension report (IAR) to the cement company for the violation of “discharging of bunker oil” into the river.

The PCG said it “advised” the company to lay out oil spill booms at the villages that reported traces of oil in their part of the river – Barangay May-iba and Barangay Poblacion along the Morong River.

The company has deployed 3 oil spill booms to date, and will put in place additional oil spill booms at the mouth of Morong River leading to Laguna Lake, the PCG said.

PCG personnel in Laguna De Bay assisted in the cleanup activity and are closely monitoring the movement of the spillage into the Morong River.

Solid Cement Corporation said on Wednesday that it has dispatched its environment, health and safety (EHS) and operations teams “to assess and contain the oil leak at identified areas in Antipolo, Teresa and Morong, Rizal.”

“The safety of the community and the environment remain as our priority. We assure everyone that we are on top of the situation to immediately resolve this incident. Our investigation is ongoing to determine the cause of this leakage. We will provide updates as soon as available,” Maniago said. – Rappler.com