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RESTRICTED ENTRY Soldiers guard the compound of Philippine Sanjia-Steel Corp. inside the Phividec Industrial Estate in Tagoloan, Misamis Oriental, where scrap metals were found to contain radioactive uranium and thorium. The Department of Environment and Natural Resources has issued a cease-and-desist order against the steel plant’s operations. —RYAN D. ROSAURO
CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, Philippines — The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has ordered the closure of Chinese-run Philippine Sanjia-Steel Corp. after radioactive materials were found within its 22.6-hectare facility at an economic zone in Misamis Oriental province.
According to experts from the Philippine Nuclear Research Institute (PNRI), they detected uranium-238, thorium-228 and thorium-232 from the imported scrap metals that the firm used to manufacture steel bars at its plant located in the government-owned Phividec Industrial Estate at Barangay Baluarte in Tagoloan town.
Lawyer Norlito Eneran, DENR assistant secretary for legal affairs and enforcement, said they cancelled the environmental compliance certificate (ECC) of Sanjia and issued a cease-and-desist order on the basis of the findings of the PNRI.
