Environment advocates urged the provincial government of Cebu to drop its plan to set up a dumpsite for coal ash by a beach, citing the dangerous levels of harmful chemicals contained in the waste product associated with cancer.

According to the Ecological Waste (EcoWaste) Coalition, the building of a dumpsite is being proposed in Naga City, Cebu province in time for the operation of the 200-megawatt Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO) in February 2011. It will be used to receive tons of coal combustion waste or coal ash from said power plant.

In a letter faxed to the offices of Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia and Vice Gov. Gregorio Sanchez Jr., the EcoWaste Coalition expressed its “profound objection” against the planned dumping of coal ash at the provincial government-owned Balili Beach Resort in Naga City in Cebu.

EcoWaste president Manny Calonzo said the KEPCO will pay $1 million to the Cebu provincial government for the permit to dump.

The letter from the group bolsters earlier opposition lodged by Cebu law faculty lawyers Gloria Estenzo Ramos and Benjamin Cabrido for the engagement of the provincial officials in the business of coal ash dumping.

“In the greater interest of human and ecological health, we urge the government of Cebu to apply precautionary principle, reconsider its coal ash deal with KEPCO, and prevent a potential chemical crisis that might even cost beyond the US$1 million promised by the company,” said Calonzo.

“We urge the government of Cebu to learn from the unfolding health and environmental problems in the US due to toxic releases from coal combustion waste ponds, pits, dumpsites and landfills, some of which have been declared as Superfund sites or toxic waste sites requiring very costly cleanups,” he added.

According to the group, “coal combustion byproducts are not exactly benign waste” as these can contain dangerous levels of harmful chemicals associated with cancer and non-cancer risks such as arsenic, boron, cadmium, cobalt, lead, mercury, molybdenum, nitrates/nitrites, and selenium.

Citing a study conducted by international environmental group Greenpeace Southeast Asia, EcoWaste said ash samples from the coal-fired power plant of the National Power Corp. located in Calaca, Batangas tested positive for toxic metal mercury.

The EcoWaste Coalition also questioned the capability of the provincial and city authorities to monitor, regulate, and mitigate the adverse effects of coal ash dumping to ensure the long-term health and safety of the constituents, water supplies and marine resources.

Citing another report released in March 2009 by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the group noted that the disposal of coal ash, especially in unlined ponds “results in alarmingly high risks of cancer and diseases of the heart, lung, liver, stomach and other organs and can seriously harm aquatic ecosystems and wildlife near disposal sites.”

In the same report, the EPA warned that “contamination from coal ash ponds will not peak until about 78 to 105 years after waste is dumped, while peak exposure from landfills may occur after even longer periods of time.”