The mercury ban imposed by President Aquino through his new mining policy, Executive Order No. 79, has helped push an advocacy campaign to make Benguet mercury-free by 2015.
But an official of a group of small-scale miners in Benguet, who is pursuing this drive, said the ban has worried small-scale mining associations in southern Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao.
Lomino Kaniteng, president of the Benguet Federation of Small-Scale Miners (BFSSM), said only one line in EO 79 addresses mercury, “but it is the most important one for our campaign.”
Section 11 of the directive says “the use of mercury in small-scale mining shall be strictly prohibited.”
Long exposure to mercury affects the nervous system, the immune system and digestive tracts of humans. The World Health Organization (WHO) says elemental or metallic mercury vaporizes readily and can stay for up to a year in the atmosphere.
No comments:
Post a Comment