case-study-marcopper-disaster in the philippines.pdf

mining

2. MarcopperMiningCorporationco-
ownedbytheCanadianfirmPlacer
DomeInc.
Mining Site: Mt. Tapian, Marinduque
Type: Open pit mining

4. Miningistheprocessofremovingorefrom
beneaththeearth'ssurface.Therearetwo
typesofminingthataretraditionallyused,
appropriatetothenatureofthedeposit.Open
pitminingisusedwhenashallowlayerof
materialcoverstheore.

5. Heavymachineryisusedtoliftoffearthand
uncovertheminerals.Whentheoreisfar
enoughdownwhereopenpitminingisnot
practical,themoretraditionalunderground
methodisused.Shaftsaredrivenintothe
groundtoremovethematerialandbringitto
thesurface.

6. Onceremoved,theore-bearingrockisground
upintopowderandmixedwithwaterand
chemicalsintoslurry.Compressedairis
pumpedthroughthemixturecausingthe
coppertoholdtothebubbles.Thesebubbles
arethenskimmedoffthesurfaceandthe
mineralscanbeused.Therestofthemixture,
ortailings,iswaste(Hamilton-Paterson1997).

7. In1972,Marcopperdisposedofitswasteonland.
Thischangedin1975whenablanketpermitwas
giventoMarcopper,whichallowedthemtodump
minetailingsintotheCalancanBayattherateof
2.5tonspersecond.Theamountoftailings
producedfromminesinMarinduqueishighbecause
theoreislowgrade,containingonly0.44percent
copper.Thismeansalargeamountofrockhastobe
removedandendsupaswaste(Hamilton-Paterson
1997).

8. From1975tomid-1991,Domedumpedsome200
milliontonsofminetailingsviasurfacedisposalinto
CalancanBay.Theshallowbottomiscoveredby
approximately80sqkmoftailingsincludingafivekm
longcausewayofexposedtailings.Throughoutthis
period,PlacerDomedeniedthedumpinghurtthe
fishermen,whoreliedonthebayasalivelihood
(KASAMA1998).NotonlywaswasteenteringCalancan
Bay,butinordertodrainrainwaterfromtheminingpit,
atunnelwasbuiltfromtheminetotheBoacRiver.

9. December1993Manguil-guilaearthen
dam,asiltationdamcollapseddueto
TyphoonMonangwhichaffected
MogpogRiver
MogpogRiver declared dead

11. onMarch24,1996,2-3milliontonsofmine
wasteleakedintothe26-kilometerlongBoac
River.TheplugthatsealedtheTapianpit
tunneltotheBoachadfractured,releasing
minewasteatarateof5-10cubicmetersper
second.Thepitcontainedaround23million
metrictonsofminewaste(Tauli-Corpuz).

12. TerrestrialEnvironment
Theimmediateeffectsweredisastrous.Flash
floodsisolatedvillagesandonewasburied
undersixfeetoffloodwater.Thechannels,as
wellasthevalleyfloor,wereburiedunder
minetailings.Agriculturalfieldswere
inundated,andthedrinkingwaterresidents
reliedonwascontaminated.

13. TerrestrialEnvironment
Ontheotherhand,collectedsoilsamples
revealedthatithadunacceptablelevelsof
lead,cadmiumandelevatedlevelsofcopper
andzincwhileleadvaluesintheairsamples
exceededthestandardsoftheUS
EnvironmentalProtectionAgency.

14. CadmiumPoisoningSymptoms
Nauseaandvomiting
Diarrhea
Abdominalpainandcramping
Tenesmus:Asensationthatyouneedtohavea
bowelmovement,butyoudon'tactuallyneed
todefecate

15. Cadmium
Other potential chronic effects include:
Kidney disease
Lung disease
Immune system problems
Nervous system problems
Fragile bones
Low birthweight
Increased risk of lung cancer

16. Lead
Athighlevelsofexposuretoleadthebrain
andcentralnervoussystemcanbeseverely
damagedcausingcoma,convulsionsandeven
death.Childrenwhosurviveseverelead
poisoningmaybeleftwithpermanent
intellectualdisabilityandbehavioural
disorders.

17. Lead
Inparticular,leadcanaffectchildren’sbrain
development,resultinginreducedintelligencequotient
(IQ),behaviouralchangessuchasreducedattention
spanandincreasedantisocialbehaviour,andreduced
educationalattainment.Leadexposurealsocauses
anaemia, hypertension, renal impairment,
immunotoxicityandtoxicitytothereproductiveorgans.
Theneurologicalandbehaviouraleffectsofleadare
believedtobeirreversible.

18. CopperPoisoning
feeling anxious or irritable
having trouble paying attention
feeling overexcited or overwhelmed
feeling unusually sad or depressed
sudden changes in your mood

19. Copper
Longtermtoxicity
kidney conditions
liver damage orfailure
heart failure
brain damage

20. Zinc
AcuteToxicity
nausea
vomiting
stomachache
diarrhea
headaches

21. AquaticEnvironment
Fish,shrimpandotherfoodsources,whichare
themainlivelihoodforthosewhodonotwork
forMarcopper,wereimmediatelykilled.The
governmentdeclaredtheBoacRiverdead.

22. Citizens
Twentyvillagesoutofthe60hadtoevacuate
theirareafollowingtheaccident.
AreportreleasedonApril17,1996bythe
DepartmentofHealthfoundnineresidentsin
theareatohavezinclevelsintheirblood
morethan200%abovesafelimits.

23. Citizens
Watersamplesfoundlevelsofcontamination
1,300%abovethehumantolerablelevelof.5
microgramper1/1000litersofwater.Despite
thesefindings,Marcopperheldontotheclaim
thatthetailingswerenon-toxic.Residentsalso
complainedofskinirritationsandrespiratory
problems,whichcouldhavebeencausedbythe
poisonousvaporsemittedfromtailings(Tauli-
Corpuz).

24. InitsdecisiondatedMay16,2022,MarinduqueRegional
TrialCourtBranch38grantedthedamagespleaofthe30
plaintiffsinthecaseagainsttheMarcopperMining
Corporation.
ThisincludedaP200,000($3,800)intemperatedamages
andP100,000($1,900)inmoraldamagestoeachofat
leastthirtyplaintiffsthatfiledthecasein2001.Another
onemillionpesos($19,000)asexemplarydamageswas
awardedtoalltheplaintiffs,accordingtoLegalRights
andNaturalResourcesCenter,whichhasbeenassisting
theplaintiffs.

25. Thank you.