Mercury Contamination and Community Awareness on the Abandoned Palawan Quicksilver Minein Puerto Princesa City, Philippines

Alexes Mae   Diaz,

Mercury Contamination and Community Awareness on the Abandoned Palawan Quicksilver Minein Puerto Princesa City, Philippines

Abstract:

The Palawan Quicksilver Mine Inc. was a former mercury mining company in Barangay Santa Lourdes, Puerto Princesa City which operated from 1954 to 1976. The generated mining waste that had been discarded into Purok Honda Bay, Barangay Santa Lourdes, was used to construct a mining port. This study aimed to determine the mercury level inthe soil (the land surrounding the pit lagoon) of the abandoned mine site and the awareness of the nearby community about its state. The mercury concentration of the soil in the said site has an average value of 40.26mg/kg whichis 805.2-fold of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources’ standard mercury level in the soil, which is 0.05mg/kg. Majority (69%) of the 32 households who participated in this research reported that the mercury waste at the abandoned mine site is already non-persistentdue to the longtime non-existence of the mining operations. Even if they experienced illnesses such as fever and flu, they did not attribute them to mercury exposure. However, based on the soil analysis conducted, mercury still persists in the abandoned mine site and continues to pose potential health risks. Information education campaign about mercury contamination and soil toxicity, including mercury testing, is recommended.

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