Residents getting sick; DENR action urged: La Union folk press stop to coal facility operation

By Dexter A, See

STO. TOMAS, La Union — Thousands of residents living in a village here called for a stop to operation of a coal storage facility which, they claimed, resulted to inconvenience and hazard to their health.

The facility is reportedly operated by a Pangasinan-based businessman and located in Barangay Namunitan here.

Residents said since the operation of the facility in 2006, many residents suffered from respiratory illnesses due to dust coming out of the warehouse.

Hundreds of fishermen, who claimed to have been the most inconvenienced in the barangay, criticized the establishment of the facility near their fishing grounds, complaining that they have to go through a long route before they can conduct fishing activities.

Several residents also said big trucks coming in and out of the facility are causing inconvenience to them as buildings alongside the road shake every time dozens of the huge vehicles pass by.

Affected residents asked the Sto. Tomas municipal government and the Region 1 office of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources to review permits they have granted to the environmentally sensitive project.

Thet said air, water, and land in the barangay was being polluted by the facility.

The people said they are wondering why the coal storage facility was erected in their area when they were not even consulted on it.

The coal stored in the facility is reportedly transported to Sison, Pangasinan by the owner to be used for his business operations.

The residents complained about the big volume of dust coming from the facility, saying this has resulted in severe respiratory illnesses among the residents, particularly children.

They said they spent a lot of money for medical expenses of their kids. The illnesses are chronic due to their exposure to coal dust coming from the warehouse, they said.

Representatives of the businessman holding office in the facility said the people’s concerns are now being looked into, but they just have to wait for a little more time for the concerns to be addressed.