(UPDATE) THE task force composed of concerned national government agencies and the Navotas City government deployed more heavy equipment to cover the abandoned landfill with soil to suppress the toxic fumes from the fire that had been initially contained.
Navotas Mayor John Rey Tiangco said on Sunday he accompanied Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon and other government officials, including those from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and Department of Health (DOH), in inspecting the 41-hectare facility in Barangay Tanza 2, which is situated off the coast, 2.6 kilometers from the mainland.
Tiangco said Dizon has sent backhoes, bulldozers and dredgers to the site to cover the landfill with soil and extinguish the blaze completely.
“We have resolved to put soil on top of the burning trash caused by methane gas underneath, otherwise it would continue to burn,” Dizon said during the inspection late last week.
Dizon and Tiangco said they would ask the private sector to send more heavy equipment to the site.
They said the deployment of heavy equipment was slow since they were only loaded through barges which could not go near the facility during low tide.
“But there is a road leading to the dumpsite that is about to be completed and which would speed up the deployment of the heavy equipment at the site in the coming days,” Dizon said.
Tiangco said the landfill was shut down late last year, and the DENR was studying the filing of charges or imposition of sanctions against the former operator — Philippine Ecology Systems Corp. — for apparent abandonment.
“There were also no residents living in the closed facility, but our main concern here is the toxic fumes out of the rubbish fire that have been spreading and affecting many cities in Metro Manila and towns in Bulacan, particularly Obando, and as far as Bataan province,” the mayor said.
The Bureau of Fire Protection reported that the fire broke out on the night of April 10, when high levels of nitrogen dioxide, or NO2, at the site were confirmed by the Philippine Space Agency.
“There was no doubt that the effect of the rubbish fire on air quality extended beyond the immediate area of the blaze,” Tiangco said.
He said the DOH has warned that the lingering haze from the fire could pose health risks.
“That is why we are advising, especially those near the closed facility, to wear masks, because the haze — air polluted with fine smoke and dust particles from fire and ash — may trigger difficulty in breathing, coughing, chest pain, eye irritation and worsening asthma, and other lung diseases,” Tiangco said.
Prolonged exposure may be dangerous for vulnerable groups, including children, older persons and people with heart or lung conditions, the DOH said.
The DENR also indicated that the air quality in nearby Valenzuela City has been classified as hazardous for all residents, while other Metro Manila cities — Caloocan, Malabon, Marikina and Quezon — as well as parts of Bulacan recorded levels considered unsafe for sensitive groups.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has ordered the rapid deployment of more heavy equipment at the Navotas landfill.
Dizon said the plan is to suffocate the flames by covering the 30-hectare landfill with soil and sludge.
Under the president’s directive, all available national government resources are being tapped, with additional equipment on standby for immediate deployment.
“The message from Malacañang is unequivocal: the fire must be put out fast at all costs to protect communities and the health of residents,” added Dizon.
