How pesticides affect the environment and our health

Pesticides are chemicals that farmers use to kill insects, weeds and other pests in their farms (and homes too!). In developing countries like ours, the improper use of pesticides by farmers is causing human illnesses.

The connection between pesticide use and human health can be the result of two mechanisms: one, pesticides pollute the environment and the polluted environment (soil and groundwater) causes health problems; second, the pesticides cause poisoning due to direct exposure to these toxic chemicals. The first mechanism is indirect, slow (but sure!) and not easily observable that is why we usually are not aware of it or we just ignore it. The second mechanism is direct. It can be slow or dramatic but affects mostly the farmers who are applying or handling the chemicals and their family members who are working in the farm.

Many farmers are directly exposed to pesticide poisoning due to lack of proper safety gadgets or due to wrong methods of application. Pesticides enter the human body through skin contact, ingestion, and inhalation. Acute symptoms of pesticide poisoning include dizziness, vomiting, cramps, and coma. Chronic symptoms (meaning, symptoms that continue for a long time) include liver and kidney damage, sterility, change in blood count, formation of tumors, allergies, and skin alterations. Unexplained health problems of people in rural areas maybe due to pesticide poisoning.

This is not of course to say that pesticides are not important. In many cases they are necessary to have a good crop harvest. But the farmers need to be properly guided on the proper way of applying these chemicals to avoid poisoning and to make sure that the crops they grow (which we consume!) and the water we drink are free from the toxic pesticides. (Acknowledgement: Photo above was taken & modified from www.roamingtimes.com/environment/pesticides.asp).

How safe are herbal and alternative medicinal products?

There is scientific evidence that many over-the-counter health foods, neutraceuticals, and alternative medicinal products may not be safe. This was revealed in a paper written by Dr. K. Chan of Hongkong Baptist University and published in the prestigious scientific journal Chemosphere (Elsevier, Amsterdam).

The paper concluded that “the increase in popularity of such products has brought concerns and fears over the professionalism of practitioners and the quality, efficacy, and safety of their treatment methods and products from herbal and natural sources. These products maybe contaminated with excessive or banned pesticides, microbial contaminants, heavy metals, chemical toxins or adulterated with orthodox drugs."

"The excessive pesticides, microbial contaminants and heavy metals maybe related to the source of these herbal materials if they are grown under contaminated environment or during the collection of these plant materials. Chemical toxins may come from unfavorable or wrong storage conditions or chemical treatment due to storage. The presence of orthodox drugs maybe related to unprofessional practice of manufacturers."

Just a little explanation for the above. Plants growing in polluted soils may absorb the pollutants like heavy metals, pesticides and other harmful substances and store them in their tissues. The pesticides may also come from excessive pesticide application to control pests during the production of the herbal plants.

The article is just a reminder to all of us, myself included. It may not be true to the products that you and I have been using. But it may turn out that the fresh herbal plants that we can get from our backyard maybe more effective and safer than the beautifully packed but expensive ones produced somewhere else. (Photo shows part of the medicinal plant garden of a 12th century castle along Rhein River in Germany.)

Reference: Chan K. 2003. Some aspects of toxic contaminants in herbal medicines. Chemosphere 52: 1361-1371

Those were the days my friend!

"Those were the days my friend, we thought they'd never end" so goes the opening line of one of the most enduring old songs. For many of us who experienced as young children the late 60s and early 70s, it was a difficult time but enjoyable and memorable anyhow.

There were no multicabs and fashionable motorcycles but there were some tricycles and many baloto and kangga. There were no video players, component systems, and cable TVs but sinehan, radio-phono, radio programs (especially drama and singing contest), komiks, and folkloric stories were there to entertain us. There were no cell phones, gameboys and internet games but we had ligas, lastiko, kawil, shatong, sungka, and kasing to play with. There were no disco clubs and videoke houses but there were well-lighted sarayaw and romantic and exciting harana journeys. There were no ice creams, pizzas, and hamburgers but ice drop, menoron, salukara, and bakintol were available.

The sea and the mountains were all ours to explore and enjoy. We were free and not afraid of anything except of course of asuwang, agta, and libon (covered trucks for transporting goods which were rumored to kidnap children). Hard and primitive it may have been but this period was conducive to building strong character and creativity in us children. It is no wonder that many of the most successful Estehanons were product of this period. (Acknowledgement: The photo of Borongan was modified from the one posted in google.com by batch2006.com)

Global warming and local environmental problems

Global warming, the increase in the average global temperature is a real problem now and we are starting to experience its bad effects like the more frequent occurrence of strong typhoons, the warming of sea water resulting in decreased fish catch by fishermen, and the increased amount of rainfall resulting in catastrophic floods and landslides.

But apart from this global environmental problem, there are also local environmental problems in certain places in Eastern Samar that need urgent action. These include deforestation, land degradation, and soil and water pollution. Except for deforestation, these local problems have seldom grabbed the headlines and the endorsement of politicians and popular personalities, but they are already threatening our lives. In a sense, they are already killing us softly.

The fact that much of the original or primary forest in Eastern Samar is now gone clearly indicates that we failed in protecting this vital natural resource. No need to cry over spilt milk says the popular expression. What we need to do is to see to it that the forest that remains is protected and the degraded uplands, the product of deforestation and kaingin in previous decades, are rehabilitated especially in critical watersheds across the province. A degraded land has reduced capacity to absorb rain so that much of the water during rainy days flows on the land surface resulting in floods and lowering of the water table (meaning, drying up of wells!). Degraded lands are also infertile and unproductive.

Soil and water pollution is largely caused by improper disposal of municipal solid wastes, the unregulated use of pesticides and fertilizers by farmers, and mining. Most towns in the province do not have proper dumpsites. The unregulated use of pesticides and fertilizers by farmers also leads to soil and water pollution. You can easily notice this from the unusual vigorous growth of algae around rice fields, ponds, rivers and bays suggesting excess amount of nutrients from fertilizers and other sources. Mining is also a major cause of soil and water pollution. The negative environmental effects of the Bagacay Mine which operated from 1954 to 1992 are still there. Recent major efforts to rehabilitate the site have not been successful.

One last thing: when you drink a glass of water, how do you know that it is not yet contaminated with harmful chemicals?

What a proper and safe dumpsite looks like

Some people have asked me about the characteristics of a good dumpsite, a piece of land where garbage is dumped. In fact, a few cities in Leyte have sought our assistance.

A good dumpsite should be located at least a few kilometers away from the community chiefly for health reasons. It should be far from water bodies like lakes, rivers, and the sea to avoid contaminating these vital life-support systems. The land should not be steeply sloping to prevent landslide and erosion of the wastes to lower areas. The best soil type is clayey (never sandy!) since it is capable of holding the toxic chemicals and thus preventing them from moving with the percolating water to the groundwater (the underground water reservoir from which wells extract their water).

Mangrove areas (kanipaan, kamiyapihan, lala-o) are the home and breeding place (or habitat) for many fishes and marine organisms hence, they should never be used as dumpsite. How about the Borongan City dumpsite? Well, it fails most of the requirements I mentioned above so it is not a proper site and could have serious ecological and health consequences in the long term.

Limestone rock for the road or for soil improvement?

During my Eastern Samar visit a year ago, I observed the mining of limestone deposits at several sites along the national "highway" for road rehabilitation purposes. In one place near Maydolong, I noticed the high quality of the limestone rock being mined. So I took a sample and brought it to my laboratory for analysis.

The analysis results confirmed my earlier observation: the limestone is composed of 99 percent calcium carbonate (with little contaminants) and can be a good liming material for the unproductive acidic soils in Samar. In fact using it as soil amendment would be a much better option than as road amendment. Calcium carbonate is soluble in water and thus is not stable and not very suitable as road material. Its solubility increases tremendously when the water is slightly acidic like when there are organic materials or "dirt" in it (as in a road of course!).

Once there were green fields

Many years ago, the large lowland plains in Can-avid and Dolores were a wonderful sight to behold. By February each year, they appeared as awesome green fields which slowly turned golden as the rice panicles started to ripen.

Aroganga, Dolores, Eastern Samar

Every summer our family and many thousand others from all over the province would migrate for two months to Can-avid or Dolores where the largest rice fields were (and still are) found. 

Although stressful and tiresome, rice harvesting was always fun and exciting since we had the chance to meet people from many different places. Nights were lively since there were always dancing activities (sarayaw) and pirilipig (making of the rice delicacy pilipig or pinipig by pounding heated immature rice grains). 

Harvesting rice the traditional way (Source: IRRI)

At the end of the harvest season, many teenagers would go back to their respective home places bringing with them not only many sacks of rice that could last for the whole year, but also life partners (asawa) to last a lifetime.

This rice field in Dolores was very productive in the 1970s, now it is an idle land.

But everything changed dramatically when the insurgency problem started in the 1970s. Many formerly productive rice fields are now idle since their owners have gone somewhere.

The large rice fields of Can-avid and Dolores owe their existence to the large rivers which produced the wide flatlands along their banks. They are generally productive because the soils are young and they developed from fertile river (alluvial) sediments.

Punta Maria's white limestone rock

As I mentioned in the previous post, the white beach of Punta Maria comes from the disintegration (or weathering as it is called in geology) of the white limestone rock. The photo shows that wave action has already dissolved or removed a large part of this large limestone rock. The softest portion of the rock was the first to be removed and the debris accumulated as white beach sand. If you visit the Songco beach, it is black colored because of the dark color of the igneous (volcanic) rocks from which the beach sand and gravels were derived.

Punta Maria's beautiful white beach

Ask any Boronganon about the nice beaches in the municipality and you will be told to visit Punta Maria (Point Mary). It is a beautiful white beach at the base of a 50-meter elevated reef limestone. The beach which faces the large Pacific Ocean, is white because it is composed of calcium carbonate (white in color) derived from the disintegration of the limestone rock. The limestone rock was formed from the compaction of corals under the sea thousands of years ago. It is now elevated because of the slow upward movement of the Earth's crust.

Panarit: Estehanons' unforgettable carolling tradition

Katsarit or the Christmas carolling season in the province especially in Borongan is a great tradition that has withstood the test of time. It is one of the good things that always lure me back to my birthplace.

In contrast to the "freewheeling" carolling practices in other parts of the country, the one in Este is unique and special. There are unwritten rules the most important of which is that you can do it only between the 16th and 24th of December. Otherwise, you will be reprimanded by the old folks and you will surely be mahiblungan (something like cursed). Another unwritten rule is that you have to sing the traditional Panarit song "Deo Gracias Amigo" otherwise, you will be an outcast and people will not take you seriously.

The song itself is beautiful; it narrates the ordeal of Joseph and Mary as they searched for a house in which Mary could rest and give birth to Jesus. The lyrics are simple but informative and can fit to the tunes of many other popular songs (I have always wondered who composed this great song). While the children use the simple tunes, teenagers and "oldies" prefer the melodious versions which are really pleasing to hear especially with guitar or band accompaniment.

(The photo on the right shows the carol group of Delfin Tavera in Tabunan which captivated the bystanders with its wonderful performance).

(There is a recent post on youtube of the Panarit. It is very beautiful. Please click this link)

Interesting Salcedo phenomenon

In Salcedo, one can find a unique and interesting natural phenomenon. The area around Naparaan including the campus of Eastern Samar State University (formerly Salcedo Samar Agricultural College or SSAC) has one of the oldest soils in the whole island of Samar. The soil which developed from ultrabasic rocks that came from deep in the Earth's crust, is very red, deep, clayey, and very sticky when it is wet. It is called in science as Ferralsol and is widespread in Central America and Central Africa. When I was in high school, I was a delegate to a provincial student conference held at SSAC. It was at this conference that I had my first memorable encounter with the Salcedo soil- my one and only pair of white tennis shoes turned red permanently!

Hard and dangerous but fair!

Eastern Samar is at the margin of the largest ocean in the world, the Pacific Ocean. Because of this unique location, the province is still rich in marine resources. Fishing is thus the means of living of the majority of Estehanons. Many friends and relatives of mine told me that they travel with their subiran (small boat without motor) many kilometers into the open sea to have a good catch. It is hard and very dangerous but they told me they also enjoy their work. At least, there is no pollution, no boss, and above all, it is fair out there!

Remembering a favorite bay

In the 1970s this bay located a few kilometers north of Borongan City, was our favorite play and hunting ground. During weekends and especially during summer time, my friends and I would spend hours and hours swimming, bird hunting and fishing. At the time, the mangrove area covered a considerable part of the bay so it was beautiful and serene. Now much of the mangrove vegetation is gone although I still find the beach along the bay a nice place to relax and read a book.

Welcome to Eastern Samar Diary

Dear Friends,

Welcome to the Eastern Samar Diary! This blog is intended to highlight the relevant, beautiful, and unique features of Eastern Samar (and its people) with the hope that it will be useful to people from other places who are interested in visiting our place, to Estehanons living in foreign shores who surely miss our province, and to students and professionals in Eastern Samar.

I am from Borongan although right after high school, I wandered away from my beloved birthplace in pursuit of my dreams. As I start this blog I am temporarily based in Europe.

I would really appreciate receiving your comments. If you want to share pictures and stories about your life or experiences in Este please just email them to me at vbasio@gmail.com. I will post them with your name of course.

Maupay nga adlaw ha iyo!

Vic