Toxic products aboard capsized ferry

摘要

The joint report by the European Union and United Nations experts dispatched from 9 to 20 July to the Philippines to assess the situation of 'Princess of the Stars', a ferry-that capsized on 21 June off Sibuyan Island during Typhoon Fengshen, was submitted to the Philippine authorities on 1 August. It confirms the presence of five pesticides in two different containers on the ferry - one containing endosulfan and the other containing carbofuran, propineb, metamido-phos and niclosamide - as well as 100,000 litres of fuel for the ferry's engines. It rec- ommends improved monitoring of water, sediment and air and the establishment of a bio-monitoring programme. Manila is invited to draw up a full health and safety- plan for the salvage operators, covering all hazards linked to the products on board, and to put in place a complete system for the recovery, storage and elimination or disposal of chemicals before the start of salvage operations. The national authorities are also urged to establish a government-level contingency plan to improve their preparations for any similar events in the future.