Environment NGO SEEDS PH called on local government units (LGUs) and concerned regulators to ban the use of obsolete and environmentally destructive induction furnaces (IFs) in steel smelting and production similar to what was done in China and Pampanga.
Dona Cristino, SEEDS PH secretary-general, noted that IFs started to make their way into the Philippines immediately after they were banned by Beijing in 2017 for causing widespread air pollution in China.
She said according to the investigation they have made, these IFs are now being operated by steel plants in different areas in the country, including Sta. Maria and Pulilan in Bulacan, Valenzuela, and Cagayan de Oro.
“Worse, the reports we got revealed that these steel plants are being owned and operated by Mainland Chinese, using Filipinos as dummies. Practically, these Chinese operators just transferred their environmentally destructive operations here in the Philippines,” Cristino noted.
A steel plant in Sta. Maria. Bulacan, for instance, she said has been operating with no updated environmental clearance certificate and permits to operate their pollution-control facilities, in violation of the Clean Air Act (RA 8749) and Clean Water Act (9275).
Cristino said the products being produced by these IFs do not conform with the Philippine National Standard (PNS), putting at risk the lives and properties of Filipinos, especially since the country’s is prone to strong typhoons and earthquakes.
She stressed that these plants are expected to produce substandard products because induction furnaces are not capable of removing impurities in steel smelting, thus, making their quality inconsistent. “So these IFs are like a double-whammy to us Filipinos: they destroy our environment and they produce substandard products,” Cristino said.
She said this is why the LGUs and government regulators, including the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the Department of Environment and National Resources (DENR), should immediately shut down these steel plants and ban the use of IFs in the country.
She said the mayors should not expose their constituents to health hazards being caused by the pollutants being emitted by these steel plants in the air. San Simon, Pampanga, for example, banned IFs in the municipality last year.
This was after residents complained that tiny particles apparently being emitted by steel plants in the area are settling on their roofs that caused them to erode quickly.
San Simon also recorded rising incidents of asthma cases, while farm output dwindled dramatically.
“We are not against industrialization and economic activities, but businesses should always be prudent in operating their establishments so as not to pose risks to the surrounding communities and the environment,” Cristino stressed.
