Officials monitoring quality of drinking water in Guimaras

MANILA, Philippines - More than two years after an oil spill threatened its residents' health, a new danger looms in Guimaras province, this time an unsafe drinking water.

Online news site Visayan Daily Star reported that samples of the water from wells showed above-normal levels of lead in five villages on the island.

Provincial health officer Felicito Lozarita said the samplings conducted April 16 showed lead content in water sources in Nueva Valencia and Sibunag towns were above the standard of .01 mg per liter.

Lozarita said four villages in Nueva Valencia and one in Sibunag registered higher than normal levels.

He identified the villages as Algeria in Sibunag (.05 mg/l) and San Antonio (.82 mg/l), Igdarapdap (.011 mg/l), Cabalagnan (.013 mg/l) and Panubulon (.022 mg/l) in Nueva Valencia.

Chronic exposure to high levels of lead is toxic and could lead to serious ailments and death, said Lozarita.

However, he said the levels are not that significant to lead to serious ailments, at least for now.

Lozarita presented the results of the samplings during the second anniversary of the August 2006 Solar I oil spill last week.

He said they still could not conclude that the increase in lead levels was a result of the oil spill.

Lozarita said they would still correlate the results of the water samplings with blood samples on residents exposed to bunker fuel taken after the oil spill and this year. - GMANews.TV