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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider PCG taps DOST in investigating Or. Mindoro oil spill

PCG taps DOST in investigating Or. Mindoro oil spill

Published Apr 10, 2023 06:52 am
The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) is now collaborating with the Department of  Science and Technology (DOST) in the conduct of investigation into the oil spill that hit the waters of Oriental Mindoro and nearby areas after the sinking of an oil tanker on Feb. 28. In a statement, the PCG said the collaboration started when the DOST agreed to work with the agency by tapping Dr. Hernando Bacosa, a DOST-National Research Council of the Philippines (NRCP) member under the Biological Science Division. Bacosa is an environmental science professor at Mindanao State University-lligan Institute of Technology (MSU-IIT) and the Campus Head of Mindanao State University-Main Campus Extension in Bataraza, Palawan. “The PCG-DOST collaboration aims to improve investigation through laboratory analysis in oil biomarker fingerprinting through the DOST-Industrial Technology Development Institute and confirm the suspected source of oil that reached the coastlines of Oriental Mindoro, Antique, and Palawan,” the statement read.  The teams from the PCG and DOT have already started conducting sampling in offshore and shoreline operations to verify oil weathering characteristics.  The oil samples were collected from the offshore spill area, coastal communities affected, and the SL Harbor Bulk Terminal tank in Limay, Bataan, where the vessel acquired its Industrial Fuel Oil (IFO).  “The collected samples are used to identify the specific bacteria present in the environment, culture local superior oil-degrading bacteria, and monitor the fate of oil to provide clues for future oil spill events under Philippine conditions,” the PCG statement read.  Barcosa, for his part, sought the assistance of the MSU in running the appropriate tests and looking through proper methods (i.e. American Society for Testing and Materials method and Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry) for the determination of waterborne oil samples and oil residues that could be used as confirmatory evidence admissible in court and following internationally accepted standard.  Meanwhile, the PCG's Marine Environmental Protection Command also sent oil samples to laboratories in Japan and France for oil fingerprinting on April 5. The pil spill started when MT Princess Empress, which was then carrying over 800,000 liters of industrial fuel, sank off the waters of Naujan town in Or. Mindoro. 
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