Govt eyes returning endosulfan cargo from 'Princess' to Israel

[GLT]

Govt eyes returning endosulfan cargo from 'Princess' to Israel

abs-cbnNEWS.com | 10/04/2008 10:58 PM

The government on Saturday said it is now ironing out plans for the
toxic chemical cargo recovered from the capsized M/V Princess of the
Stars off waters of Romblon province.

Transportation and Communications Undersecretary, Task Force M/V
Princess of the Stars head, said in an interview over ANC's Dateline
Philippines Saturday that government is bent on shipping back the
recovered toxic cargo to Israel, the source of the endosulfan shipment
from the capsized ship owned by Sulpicio Lines..

The statement comes after government was appointed, on Thursday, to
take custody of the recovered chemical and make sure it does not pose
any threat to local communities.

"What we have decided to do is get them into the Manila port and ship
them out to Israel but we need to seek court approval to do that,
because if endosulfan has to stay in the Philippines it has to be
guarded by the Environment Management Bureau and the Fertilizer and
Pesticide Authority because they have specific warehouses where such
toxic materials can be stored. But the less risky approach is to
immediately ship it back to Israel," said Bautista

She added that other concerned groups believe this is the best thing
to do. As to who will shoulder the cost of shipment, "Maybe we will
ask Del Monte and Sulpicio to sort things out," Bautista said.

Retrieval operations for endosulfan over by Sunday

Salvor companies Saturday have already recovered at least 348 drums of
endosulfan, out of the 400 barrels of the toxic cargo onboard the
sunken passenger vessel as of 6 p.m. Saturday.

"There are 400 drums under water and we have retrieved 348, which is
actually ahead of the schedule Titan Salvor and Harbor Star expected."
Bautista said later Saturday in a statement.

Sulpicio, in the statement, said that retrieval operations may be
completed by Sunday.

Bautista earlier congratulated professional salvors for their efforts
amid the sensitive nature of retrieval operations, adding after
completing recovery of endosulfan cargo, efforts would turn to
retrieving a Bayer shipment.

Despite the absence of endosulfan contamination in Romblon's waters,
Bautista said the fishing ban within a 5-kilometer radius of the ship
will remain in place until retrieval operations are completed.

After the sensitive retrieval operations, Bautista said the Task
Force, together with salvor companies, would have to find a way to
siphon remaining fuel in the ship's barge.

"We're also trying to see when we should start suctioning out the fuel
remaining in the vessel because for sure the stability will change
once its removed from the water. We want more stable water before we
do that and we want to finish the endosulfan retrieval before we start
suctioning out the fuel," said Bautista.

Phase 2 of operations to follow siphoning of fuel

Only after siphoning could the salvor companies proceed with phase two
of the operations: retrieving the bodies of some 560 missing
passengers who are believed still trapped in the vessel.
"We want the relatives of passengers to prepare themselves because
after three-and a half months we expect to just retrieve bones. We've
set parameters of the retrieval. After retrieval they will be
decontaminated and shipped to Cebu where dead body identification will
be waiting," said the Task Force head.

She said Sulpicio will convert its terminal to a family assistance
center where medical teams will help family members with identifying
their dead relatives.
Bautista said the retrieval of bodies from the vessel could take a
month, after which the bodies would be flown to Sarajevo for proper
identification through DNA testing which could take another month to
complete.

Caroline Howard, ABS-CBN News