Unknown Barrels in Philippines

[Nick Morgan <nmorgan@igc.org>]

Dear Colleagues:
Our friends in the Philippines are concerned that some recently discoved
drums are from the U.S. DOD. Does anyone know what the barrels might be?

"People's Task Force for Base Clean-up" <basecln@psdn.org.ph>
Search for the contents of drums with Federal Specification O-F555.
_________________

Philippine Daily Inquirer
November 21, 1997

CHEMICAL ODOR SWEEPS VILLAGE CLOSE TO CLARK

Angeles City-- Residents of Sta. Maria Village in Barangay Balibaog here
have begun evacuating their children after the stench of chemicals
discharged by workers in drainages and a creek become intolerable.

City Councilor Irineo Alvaro said the stench came from the content of one
drum of liquid foam concentrate that was disposed of Wednesday by workers
who discovered 28 drums of the chemicals and 29 pails containing still
unknown chemicals.

Alvaro said seven families living near an abandoned house on Priscilla
Street where the cehmicals were discovered, experienced chest pain,
stomachache, headache and vomiting.

The stench spread some 100 meters from the abandoned house, Alvaro added.

Elmer Evangelista, president of the Sta. Maria Village Homeowners
Association said the house is formerly owned by an Air Force major but was
bought his year by a certain Richard Tang.

No one has lived in the house until Tang bought the property.

But Evangelista said immediately after the Mt. Pinatubo eruption in 1991d,
a trailer arrived one night with some workers unloading the containers in
the house. Alvaro said renovation work in the house was about to start on
Tuesday when the workers discovered the chemicals in rusting and bulging
containers. Most of the drums, originally painted red and orange, were
painted balack.

A drum, however, bore the color of military fatigue, the prominent color of
containers used to be seen inside Clark. Some containers bore "US Foam
Liquid Concentrate (in accordance with Federal Specification O-F555)."

Workers said a drum leaked when they tried to lift it.

They discharged the leaking liquid at the drainage.

Alvaro said the Metro Clark Task Force for Bases Clean-Up has asked the
Deparment of Environment and Natural Resources to investigate and address
the problem.