Toxics in Samana?

[Keith R]

Dr. Rene Ledesma, who signed the permit for the shipments is now being maligned, but he could very well not have not have known, that something more toxic than rock ash, for which the permit was given, was being shipped.
He is the person, who helped our North Coast Committee for Compliance with the Environmental Laws to keep three power plants from being built in Puerto Plata, by inviting us to environmental impact hearings and wrote to thank us for doing a civic service to our communities. I have him and his boss, Frank Moya Pons in the highest regard.

Jay,
I met Dr. Ledesma last summer to discuss, in fact, regulation of wastes in the DR (if DR1ers haven't guessed by now, I am a waste policy nut). I was favorably impressed by the man. I myself am not rushing to judgment. Based on our discussion, I do not think he is the type of man to knowingly sign onto a toxic import shipment destined to an ecologically sensitive area like Samana. I am hoping to hear that he did ask all the right questions prior to approval, and AES/Multigestiones seemed to have everything in order, so under the law he had little choice but to issue the permit. In other words, that he and the Environment Ministry were deceived.

That said, I still think he and the Ministry should have wondered aloud why AES was going through all this trouble to ship this stuff here, rather than dispose of it in PR.

I have not had the pleasure of meeting Dr. Moya Pons, although I still harbor hopes of doing so sometime in the near future to discuss his views of his legacy to Dominican environmental protection.

I am hoping that, at a minimum this entire episode will make the Environment Ministry leery of approving any waste import, and double and triple-checking with proper assays analyzed by reputable, state-of-the-art labs if they decide to. At a maximum is my preference that the DR adopt at least a de facto waste import ban until it can adopt a specific regulation and set of clear, tough procedures thereon (the current regulation only deals with the issue in a general way) -- or better yet, adopt the Basel Ban and forego waste imports altogether.

Best Regards,
Keith

 

[GlowWorm]

The flyash should not be a problem, unless......

We have several "fossil fuel" power plants in the USA that generate tons of fly ash. Most is used as an additive to concrete and asphalt, some is mixed with sand for spreading on highways during snow season.

If it is mixed with other materials, in low quantities, there is very little long-term environmental threat, short-term problems are with high ammonia content. The chemical plant clich?, ?dilution is the solution to pollution?, many times holds true. Unfortunately, if left unprotected from rainfall and the resulting run off, bulk quantities can be problematic.

I am not familiar with the Samana area, does it have ?cemento? plants like Santa Domingo? If not, I cannot fathom why this material was dumped there.

As for the dioxin, I wonder if the PR is using their power plant boiler systems as a waste incinerator as was done in India. The systems for coal-fired plants use an atomized spray of diesel fuel to ignite the coal. In India, they were mixing quantities of PCB with the diesel in order to dispose of it. The problem is that PCB does not breakdown at the temperatures found in coal-fired boiler systems and there were no static precipitators on the stacks.

I hope this is just fly ash and that the bulk storage problem is resolved.

Glow

 

[tochel]

not dangerous? affected children and families are lying?

What can be done now is to stop any further shipments, until at least 50 samples from the Samana pile have been analized by at least three foreign laboratories. The sampling should be done under supervision of at least two notaries, who would also undertake the FEDEXing of the samples to the labs.

this is totally inacebtable!
1. i organiced a probe. we will analize it in switzerland. as i'am living near basel (novartis, ciba, hoffman la roche, schweizerhalle,...) i know the danger and how expencive it is to reclean a contaminated area!
2. harmless material will not be moved hundreds of miles...? the area has to be controlled, so that no one can remove something.
3. plastic planes are preventing that the rain "versickert" the material into the groundwater!!!
4. who garantizes that official probes are correct? who garantizes that in miami tested material ist that from samana??

I hope this is just fly ash and that the bulk storage problem is resolved.
Glow.


you can hope or wait, we will investigating anyway!!!

 

[Jay Pedro]

Ledesma denies toxicity; "rokash" for airport runway? Transparent sampling

Hi Keith,
Rene Ledesma (and photo) are in Listin today:
http://www.listin.com.do/cuerpos/dinero/din4.htm
Says no heavy metals in "rokash".

Hi Glow,
Your remarks led me to the question: could this stuff be destined to end up in the new Samana Airport runway ? In that case there would be an acceptable explanation for the shipments: "demand pull" instead of "disposal push"

Gruezi Torchel,
Your item 1.: Great idea to test a sample in Basel! Please let us know what they find. What are you going to ask them to look for? You will probably have to give them indications. I had "polvillo" fly ash, collected on our terrace, tested at INDOTEC in Santo Domingo to prove it was from EGE-Haina and not from the nearby granular coal deposit, as the EGE-Haina people maintained. Without the pollution book from the World Bank I could not have told them what to test for. In the end INDOTEC proved it was EGE-Haina's stuff.

Your item 4.: This can only be guaranteed if you draw the samples with a notary present and send them out to the laboratory through the notary via FEDERAL EXPRESS.

Saludos Jay

 

[Andy B]

I went to the port yesterday as I promised and observed a large, sloping mound about 40 feet or more high on the western side of the port. It is piled and graded on the western, upward slope of the port property beside the bay. It is surrounded on two sides by the high port wall with the fourth side being the entrance road from the western port storage area by the old aduana building. It is contained and seperated from the nearby houses along the main highway by the high wall and for the general public to get to the site, they have to pass by the armed guard at the port's entrance gate.

It appears to be well-packed so no dust was apparent. It was piled and graded so that any normal rain runoff would flow down the entrance road area and enter the general ground storage area of the port and not flow into the bay. The bay's water was crystal-clear and showed no signs of runoff detris despite a week of just-ended, rainy weather. Torrential rains associated with a tropical storm could be another matter. The composition of the matter was of a gray-colored, coarse sand that would be easily compacted and not easily be blown around by the usual breeze.

There was not enough of the material to be used in a project so ambitious as an airport runway as was suggested in the previous post.

I was unable to speak to the several officials that were standing up at the top of the slope as when we were slowly driving up to them several carloads of military and other civilian officials drove up and gave us questioning looks as they passed us. We turned around and left.

 

[tochel]

the group who's investigating knows how to deal with stuff like this.
can't tell you more at the moment.
i'm back when results of probes are out!

yust an idea

hippolito mejia and rene ledesma are such as shure that this stuff is not toxic so my proposition:

hippo and ledesma will invite the press to arroyo barril.
there under control of the whole press, they mix a drink of 100 gramm ash into 1 liter whater.
the ash is not toxic, so prost drinking it! :laugh:

 

[Keith R]

Andy, thanks for the eyewitness report!

Tochel, I hope your last idea was just meant as a joke. I don't know anyone -- probably including you -- who would willingly drink any concoction of any sort of ash mixed in drinkable liquid. Hmmm. But then, maybe that was your intended point (about what happens to local groundwater if there is seepage)? aranoid:

Regards,
Keith

 

[Susanita]

Greenpeace

I have e-mailed all the Spanish speaking Greenpeace offices I could find. I've also notified the US Greenpeace office. I am in total shock over this. A friend taht works for the power plant in Puerto Plata has informed me that those byproducts are HIGHLY toxic and made up of carbons and chemicals.

I am extremely shocked by this.

While listening to the Santiago morning show (Monumental) over the internet the hosts explained that this was something believed to be 'helped along' (better translated as -- someone padded a wallet nicely to help get this approved) by tourism investors from the East side of the island to hinder the progress of the Samana area. Samana having the infamous whale migration was brought up for discussion and the guest speaker informed, that if ONE whale were to die, THEN this would cause world headlines.

 

[2samana2]

For the one who could read Spanish, this site www.samana.com give a detailed account of the events, for the non reading Spanish, pictures posted on that page will give you a better understanding of the situation.

I inted to belive more what is beeing posted on that site then someone eye-witness description by driving buy.

In journalism they say: "Whatever is describe accurately is not neccesary the truth".

Excuse my English.
2samana2

 

[Jay Pedro]

Frank Moya Pons to testify before the senate

Listin Diario Today:
Secretary for the Environment and Natural Resources, Frank Moya Pons is being called to testify before the senate. Photo of Samana governor listening to explanations from Gestion Ambiental People.
http://www.listin.com.do/cuerpos/republica/rep2.htm

 

[Andy B]

2Samana2,

If you knew that I was not just "a drive by witness" but the creator of several of Samana's biggest websites and a MAJOR promoter of tourism and a former journalist-TV anchorman, you would not question the veracity of my eyewitness account. And if you would understand English better, you would realize that all I reported was what I saw and how I interpreted the same. And if you further doubt my credibility, understand that not only do I live in Samana but I have a financial stake in its future and do not appreciate anybody crying wolf without proof of what they are saying.

Also, let it be known that if this material DOES prove to be toxic, NO ONE will protest louder than I.

 

[Andy B]

The photo accompanying the listin.com article referred to by Jay Pedro is of Ramiro "Negrito" Espinal, our senator and not Governor Amada Manzueta. These look like the people that were at the top of the hill when we drove up yesterday. If I had known that "Negrito" was there I would have had a chat with him at the time about all this.

 

[Hillbilly]

the poop has hit the fan, that is for sure. The problem is

I was reading the paid notice by Ren? Ledesma in the Hoy today. I know Ren? and he is a pretty sharp shooter.

Here is my take: While he was out of the country, an underling signed the permits to off load this stuff. Here is the key issue: NO MATTER WHAT THIS STUFF IS, NO MATTER HOW TOXIC OR NON-TOXIC IT IS, IT IS ILLEGAL TO DUMP ANY WASTE IN THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC. THAT IS THE LAW.

Now, faced with the reality of having screwed the pooch, they have to come up with sufficient justifications to cover whoever's a$$ that really gave the go ahead on this deal.

Ledesma is a PhD from Gainsville, and he is no slouch, so my bet is that he is covering out of loyalty and making the best of this. As I said before, if this stuff is so innocent, why not leave it in Puerto Rico???

HB

 

[2samana2]

NO MATTER WHAT THIS STUFF IS, NO MATTER HOW TOXIC OR NON-TOXIC IT IS, IT IS ILLEGAL TO DUMP ANY WASTE IN THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC. THAT IS THE LAW.

HB

My sentiments exactly!

I will NOT accept, Samana to became the "Garbage dump of the Caribbean", for the benefit of the few corrupt officials, and a few more voices should be add to mine, take action and call for the removal of the sludge and send it back to P.R.

2s2

 

[mountainfrog]

No Tengo la Culpa.

@ HB
Se?or, you know much better than I that breaking the law in this country need not necessarily have consequences.
No tengo la culpa, seems to be among the first words a Dominican learns to speak.
In case there was bribe money given to get this stuff dumped in Saman?, there surely won?t be any money to get it back to where it came from.

@ 2s2
Strong words.
Let?s see whether they are strong enough to move even one grain of that darn material.

M?frog

 

[Keith R]

I was reading the paid notice by Ren? Ledesma in the Hoy today. I know Ren? and he is a pretty sharp shooter.

Here is my take: While he was out of the country, an underling signed the permits to off load this stuff. Here is the key issue: NO MATTER WHAT THIS STUFF IS, NO MATTER HOW TOXIC OR NON-TOXIC IT IS, IT IS ILLEGAL TO DUMP ANY WASTE IN THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC. THAT IS THE LAW.

Now, faced with the reality of having screwed the pooch, they have to come up with sufficient justifications to cover whoever's a$$ that really gave the go ahead on this deal.

Ledesma is a PhD from Gainsville, and he is no slouch, so my bet is that he is covering out of loyalty and making the best of this. As I said before, if this stuff is so innocent, why not leave it in Puerto Rico???

HB

Thanks HB. I remember the law from the 1980s, but not all its details, and since I only have a print copy back in Virginia, could not access it here in Buenos Aires. So in my prior statement I was going purely on what the framework environment law and the specific implementing regulation on wastes say, and neither indicate a blanket ban. I wonder then, which would prevail in a court of law? Only our lawyer friends can untangle that one.... :dead:

Not only is there prior DR law to consider, HB, but there's also the Basel Convention, to which the DR has been a Party since Oct. 2000 and the US signed but never ratified, so is not. [In such treaty matters, the US acts on behalf of PR unless stating otherwise upon signing.] Article 4, para. 5 says:

5. A Party shall not permit hazardous wastes or other wastes to be exported to a non-Party or to be imported from a non-Party.

Even if the US was, this shipment would still fall afoul of Article 4, para 9:

9. Parties shall take the appropriate measures to ensure that the transboundary movement of hazardous wastes and other wastes only be allowed if:

(a) The State of export does not have the technical capacity and the necessary facilities, capacity or suitable disposal sites in order to dispose of the wastes in question in an environmentally sound and efficient manner; or

(b) The wastes in question are required as a raw material for recycling or recovery industries in the State of import; or

(c) The transboundary movement in question is in accordance with other criteria to be decided by the Parties, provided those criteria do not differ from the objectives of this Convention.

There's no way anyone in PR or DR can claim (a), and so far I have heard no one official claim applicability of (b) or (c). Even they claimed (c), they would have to show how their "other criteria" did not conflict with the objectives of the Convention, which would be veeerrrrryyyy difficult to do.

For any interested in reading the Convention, it's English text can be found at http://www.basel.int/text/con-e.htm and the Spanish text at http://www.basel.int/text/con-s.htm

Your Environment Forum Moderator :glasses:

 

[Keith R]

@ HB

In case there was bribe money given to get this stuff dumped in Saman?, there surely won?t be any money to get it back to where it came from.

M?frog

Actually, mountainfrog, as I understand it (I am not a lawyer, just a guy who deals alot with waste law) under international law if it can be shown that the shipment was done illegally -- whether under false pretenses or in violation of the laws or the exporting or importing State -- the exporting party (in this case, AES), must take back the shipment and pay fully for doing so.
Your Environment Forum Moderator,
trying to sound like a JD :cheeky:

 

[Keith R]

As many times as I have witnessed or heard of such things happening in the DR, it never ceases to sadden me to hear of yet another case, particularly those in beautiful areas of such importance to the tourism sector such as Juan Dolio and Samana.

But I am quite heartened to learn that people in the DR are finally getting mad about it and organizing to oppose such abuses. I welcome in this Forum any reporting of such problems as long as it does not degenerate into pure rumor-mongering, smear campaigns and soapboxing without substance.

Your Environment Forum Moderator :glasses:

 

[tochel]

breaking the law will have consequences!
for landesma and all who are involved!!!
you will see!

 

[vicdj]

Picture

Click on the picture in this article to enlarge it...

Picture

Vic

Torchel,
Several posts before in this thread I reported that I passed by the port (Arroyo Barril) recently as I do every week or so and I have not seen any piles of anything (and only on occassion, a freighter tied up to the pier). For a while there was some old construction debris on the pier near the passenger facility (the debris had been there for several years). You reported some 50 tons of this has been deposited in the port. That's the equivalent of about 50 dump trucks full and that makes a hell of a big pile of sand. Have you seen this yourself? If so tell us.

I will visit the port in the next day or so and I will report my observations.