UNEXPLAINED RISE IN CASES OF CERTAIN ILLNESSES
In January 2005, a team from the United States Geological Survey (USGS) submitted to the Marinduque provincial government a commissioned report assessing the environmental and health impact of mining on the island. But the USGS team itself admitted in failing to make a significant scrutiny of the effects of mining on the health of the people, citing unavailable data, confounding variables, and lack of control groups.

“The USGS report was of no use,” remarks Mogpog municipal health officer Dr. Edzel Muhi. “They say that the chemicals found in the children are possibly from the paint in houses and the school, but the most families here live only in huts.”

As early as March 1998, too, then President Fidel Ramos had declared a state of calamity in four Sta. Cruz barangays near Calancan Bay — Botilao, Ipil, Lusok, and Camandugan — due to the high incidence of heavy-metal poisoning among the children there.

Today the latest official data show that in these same barangays, the prevalence rates of illnesses considered to be symptoms of heavy-metal poisoning far outpace national figures. In fact, the four barangays have influenza and hypertension prevalence rates that are some eight times that at national level — 4,283.96 per 100,000 population for influenza and 4,079.96 for hypertension, compared to the national prevalence rates of 435 and 522.8, respectively.

Metals and Marinduqueños: Signs and Symptoms of Illnesses Among Locals Source: UP National Poison and Management Control Center
AFFECTED PARTS OF THE BODY	CHEMICALS AND METALS
	ARSENIC	LEAD	CADMIUM	COPPER	MERCURY
Nervous System Parkinson syndrome Peripheral neuropathy Seizure Stroke Cerebrovascular disease	- Yes Yes Yes -	- Yes Yes - -	Yes Yes - - -	- - - - -	- Yes Yes - Yes
Skin (Integument) Alopecia Blackfoot disease Eczema Hypopigmentation with raindrop pattern Hyperpigmentation Mee’s lines Hyperkeratosis (palms/soles) Melanosis Wart Squamous cell cancer	Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes	- - - - - - - - - -	- - - - - - - - - -	- - - - - - - - - -	- - - - - - - - - -
Hematologic Anemia Hemolysis Leukopenia Thrombocytopenia Acute myelogenous leukemia	Yes - Yes Yes Yes	Yes - - - -	- - - - -	- Yes - - -	- - - - -
Cardiovascular Hypertension	-	Yes	Yes	-	-
Pulmonary Nasal septal perforation Laryngitis Bronchitis Fibrosis Respiratory tract irritation Lung cancer	Yes Yes Yes - Yes Yes	- - - - - -	- - - Yes - Yes	- - - Yes - -	- - Yes - Yes -
Gastrointestinal AlopeciaAbdominal pain Cirrhosis Constipation Diarrhea Gingival line Elevation of liver function tests Stomatitis Splenomegaly	Yes - - Yes - Yes Yes Yes	Yes - Yes - Yes - - -	- - - - - - - -	- Yes - - - Yes - -	- - - - Yes Yes Yes -
Renal Nephropathy	Yes	Yes	Yes	-	Yes
Reproductive Infertility Menstrual irregularity Stillbirth Spontaneous abortion Prematurity	- - - - -	Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes	- - - - -	- - - - -	- - Yes Yes Yes
Endocrine Diabetes mellitus Thyroid gland disorder	Yes -	- Yes	- -	- -	- Yes
Developmental Learning and memory disability Hyperactivity or attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) Mental retardation	- - -	Yes Yes Yes	- - -	- - -	Yes Yes Yes
Muscoskeletal Impaired bone growth / shortened stature Osteomalacia with pain / Osteoporosis	- -	Yes -	- Yes	- -	- -
Others Orange hair discoloration Corneal, conjunctival, adnexal structures irritation	- -	- -	- -	Yes Yes	- Yes

The barangays also post a high prevalence rate of acute respiratory infection (ARI) and upper respiratory tract infection (URTI) or cough, cold, and fever: 6,813.54 per 100,000 population, or three times more the provincial prevalence rate of 2,104.36. Health officials note as well that the barangays’ annual cases of ARI and URTI increased last year to 334, from the average of 258 in the previous five years.

And while the Department of Health (DOH) data do not include allergic dermatitis as one of top causes of diseases in the country, it is very common in the four communities, ranking fifth at a rate of 1,631.98 per 100,000 people.

	Location map of Sta. Cruz, Marinduque courtesy of Wikipedia

Dr. Marquez admits that the lack of a medical laboratory in Marinduque has prevented them from identifying precisely whether these diseases are caused primarily or secondarily by heavy metals. “There are plenty of illnesses toxic metals and chemicals can cause,” he says. “We can't just pinpoint this out because tests must be done and we don't have the technical capability to do so. But the question is, in the exposed areas, why are these diseases on the rise?”

Panganiban also comments, “It's a natural course for people to get sick. What alarmed the health officials there is that the rates are above the regular prevalence rate.”

TOXIC METALS AND CHEMICALS
According to the UP NPMCC, lead, arsenic, cadmium, and zinc are among the toxic substances left behind by Marcopper in Boac and Mogpog rivers and Calancan Bay.

“Metals affect every vital organ you can think of,” says Panganiban, a toxicologist. “It could be hematologic, it could affect the nervous, endocrine, renal, and even the reproductive system.”

Signs and symptoms of heavy-metal poisoning may range from minor diseases, such as skin rashes, diarrhea, and constipation, to more serious illnesses, like hypertension, blood and pulmonary disorders, and even cancer, mental retardation, or developmental delay.

“The physical properties of chemicals alone may affect the residents,” says Panganiban. “Chemicals could get to the body through inhalation, ingestion by eating contaminated seafood, and constant contact.”

Not that Sta. Cruz residents are able to get much catch from the bay these days, since mine waste had destroyed some 80 square kilometers of coral reef and seagrass. Says Barangay Ipil local Melissa Mendoza, 50: “Fish catch has really dwindled. Before we used to catch buckets. Now, we can't even catch two kilos overnight.”

	WILSON Manuba has lost a leg after sustaining cuts on his feet while fishing in Calancan Bay. [photos by Karol Ilagan]

Wilson Manuba, for his part, says he ignored the cuts made by shellfish on his feet and legs whenever he fished at Calancan Bay. But then he began feeling like his feet were being “pricked by needles” every time he fished in the bay. In 2002, he was diagnosed as having contracted arsenic keratosis and squamous cell carcinoma that necessitated the amputation of his right leg. Now 37, Manuba is about to lose his other leg.

“I have accepted my condition,” he says. “I just worry for my children.” His eldest son Brian, 12, already has asthma, just like many of the children in their barangay.

In Mogpog town, some 25 kilometers from Sta. Cruz, residents can only look wistfully at the river that used to help feed them and keep them clean. Adelina Mitante, 63, says, “The river has totally changed. Just by the color, sometimes it's blue, yellowish, or like rust.”

Her neighbor, Milagros Muhi, 57, also observes that carabaos that drink regularly from the river “become thin.” She adds, “Even our (harvest of) bananas and coffee are affected."

Mogpog's Dr. Muhi says he has also evaluated many cases of skin lesions and neurologic complaints from locals living near the river. He explains that an aggravating factor is that residents can't help but cross the Mogpog River despite it being contaminated.

“Don't just go down by that river, because it's harmful to your feet,” says Mitante, one of many in her barangay with skin lesions on the feet and legs.

Doctors say that even if preventive measures are taken, such as applying cream or taking vitamins to block the absorption of metals in the body, symptoms of heavy-metal poisoning will keep on showing up so long as the toxic source exists.