OZAMIZ CITY – Hundreds of people and environmentalists have recently protested the proposed coal-fired power plant in Ozamiz City in Misamis Occidental province, citing hazards and pollutions it pose to humans and animals, and the environment.
The protesters marched around the city to denounce the plan and called on the local government to scrap the proposal and save Ozamiz and the province from the toxic pollutants cause by the burning of coal or fossil fuel.
The protest was spearheaded by the Philippine Movement for Climate Justice (Ozamiz City and Western Mindanao Chapters), Gitib, Inc.; Freedom from Debt Coalition-Western Mindanao, Power Alternative Agenda in Mindanao, Kampanya ng mga Kabataan para sa Kinabukasan, Our Rivers Our Life-Philippines, Science Club Advisers Association of the Philippines, Youth for Climate Justice, CAMPSIC, Partido Lakas ng Masa and Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino. It was also participated by various civil organizations and local villagers.
“We, the climate justice, environment and civil society groups of Ozamiz City and Misamis Occidental and concerned Ozamiznons have realized that the City Government of Ozamiz is still contemplating to pursue the agreement for the construction of the Ozamiz City Coal-Fired Power Plant. We are disappointed and horrified that despite the already established and scientifically researched irreparable impacts and destruction caused by coal fired power plants, the City Government still turns a blind eye from its constituents to pursue the project.”
“We are also Ozamiznons. And we fear of our future and our children’s future if this sinister plan will continue. But we will not stop from saying our piece and inform our fellow Ozamiznons of the dangers of coal fired power plant. We believe that it is our right and obligation as citizens and Ozamiznons who will be later become victims of this tragedy,” the organizers said in a statement.
It cited the following reasons for opposing the establishment of the coal-fired power plant:
First – there is no way that this coal power plant will be clean and can be cleaned. Even the best technology available today cannot disprove this point. The simple reason is because coal, when deposited million years ago, carried with it lots of inorganic materials like mercury, sulfur, arsenic, etc. Cleaning or washing coal only transfers the deadly particles to other areas. There is no such thing as Clean Coal – Clean coal technology emits 4 times more coal ash compared to an ordinary coal plant. According to United States Energy Information Agency (US EIA), the risk of getting cancer is 900 times higher from coal ash exposure compared to cigarette smoking. Also, according to Yale Environment and to the NRDC (National Resources Defense Council) clean coal is just a myth and a promotional gimmick.
Secondly – the negative impacts of coal-fired power plant have been widely researched and documented globally and here in the Philippines. These have gripped the lives of concerned Ozamiznons. In a study commissioned by Greenpeace “Burning Our Future,” the scientific research quoted Greenpeace issued a report in August 2001, detailing the mercury emissions of coal plants. Evidence was provided by fly ash samples taken from the 600-MW coal-fired power plant of Calaca, for testing to a commercial laboratory. Mercury was detected in at least four fly ash samples that Greenpeace sent. Mercury is a neurotoxin so deadly that it only takes 1/70th of a teaspoon to contaminate a 10.11-hectare lake to the point that fish caught in the lake area contaminated with mercury are considered unfit for human consumption. Greenpeace challenged the Philippine government to conduct its own testing after it had denied, together with the company operating the coal plant.
It said the Philippine government took up the Greenpeace challenge and conducted even more extensive tests. The test results of the government were unequivocal: mercury was detected in all of the government sampling stations in amounts way higher than those detected by Greenpeace. The Calaca plant was described by Philippine Senator Sergio Osmeña III as “an environmental disaster I wouldn’t wish on anyone” quoted the Greenpeace report.
Thirdly – the organizers said the 35-kilometer death zone from where the coal-fired power plant is located is scientifically proven and this will have consequences to small city like Ozamiz. It also cited another study in May 2005 by W.F.Donahue, E.W. Allen, and D.W. Schindler of the Department of Biological Research of the University of Alberta, that documents metallic concentrations of mercury, copper, lead, arsenic and selenium have increased 1.2 to 4 fold in three lakes where coal fired power plant are located within the 35-kilometer radius.
It said Ozamiz City is composed of 51 barangays whose distance from Barangay Pulot, the host of the coal-fired power plant will not exceed 35 kilometers. The farthest of the barangay from Barangay Pulot is Barangay Sangay Diot which is 19.4 km from Pulot. “This means to say that the whole Ozamiz City will be within the 35 kilometer radius and therefore a ground zero in terms of environmental impacts threatening the lives of all 133,000 inhabitants,” according to organizers.
Fourth, it said the coal-fired power plant in Barangay Pulot will also be fatal to the whole Panguil Bay, a small, but rich fishing ground that supports the livelihood of thousands of small-scale fishers in north-western Mindanao.
Flanked by 10 municipalities and two cities belonging to three provinces (Lanao Del Norte, Zamboanga Del Sur, and Misamis Occidental) and three administrative regions (Regions 9, 10 and 12), it said such complex jurisdictional structure calls for an integrated management framework for the sustainable development of the bay’s fishery resources.
The bay has an area of 18,000 hectares of water area and has a total coastline measuring 116 km from Clarin, Misamis Occidental to Barangay Liangan, Maigo, Lanao del Norte (FAO 133). As many as 9,323 fishers owning more than 5,000 boats depend on the municipal fisheries of Panguil Bay for their livelihood in 2005. But however, if the coal fired power plant will be constructed, study shows that for every 100MW that a coal-fired power plant will generate, it will emit 25 pounds of mercury a year. The proposed 300-MW Ozamiz Power Generation Incorporated (OPGI) coal plant will emit 75 pounds of mercury in a year. It only takes 0.002 pounds of accumulated mercury to contaminate a 10 hectare lake rendering marine life forms will unsuitable for human consumption. “Meaning to say that the coal ash from the OPGI, when it will start operation will emit 37,500x poisons enough to destroy 375,000 hectares of body of water which is bigger than the Panguil Bay Area. So devastating is the impact will even reach neighboring provinces of Misamis Occidental,” the organizers further said.
It said this has some bearing with the aforementioned and the fact that Ozamiznons are not democratically and substantially consulted about this dirty coal-fired power plant. “This reinforces our belief that since coal-fired power plants around the world carry track records of destruction and death of communities and people, then it is politically expedient for Ozamiz City Government to get rid of genuine consultation process. They even ignored the Misamis Occidental Provincial Government opinion of the project, a requirement of the law since Ozamiz is a component city. With lots of transparency issues hounding this coal fired project there must be something fishy that they have to hide this from the public,” the groups said.
The protesters were demanding from the City Government of Ozamiz to immediately stop the endorsement and reject the coal-fired power plant project.
Greenpeace said coal-fired power plant is a clear threat to sustainable development. “Coal is the dirtiest fossil fuel and a main driver of climate change. There are hundreds of examples around the world where communities around coal plants suffer the impacts of environmental damage and health problems,” said Greenpeace Southeast Asia campaigner, Amalie Obusan.
Pro-environment groups said coal-fired power plants are the single largest stationary source of pollution in any country. The toxins these coal fired power plants produce severely damage both human health and the environment and contribute to a reduced quality of life.
Coal-fired power plants are responsible for release over 85% of total global carbon dioxide emissions, a prime contributor to global warming. Emissions from these power plants contain tens of dozens of toxic chemicals and the pollution they release every day are a major threat to human health and environment.
Coal-fired units produce electricity by burning coal in a boiler to heat water to produce steam. The steam, at tremendous pressure, flows into a turbine, which spins a generator to produce electricity. The steam is cooled, condensed back into water, and returned to the boiler to start the process over. But environmentalists say the coal-fueled plants will pollute the air and contribute to global warming.
There are at least over a dozen coal-fired power plants in the country. (With a report from Christina Diabordo)
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