00:00 Various chemicals flow into the Iloilo-Batiano River system from places such as poultry farms and malls.
00:10 A project seeks to look into how safe these waters may be, especially for fish that we eat.
00:16 Let's find out more from Norwell Bautista of the National Research Council's Division of Chemical Sciences.
00:22 Thank you so much for joining us, Norwell. How significant is this research project of yours?
00:29 So, yeah, Iloilo-Batiano River system is two rivers running through the city.
00:35 And the city has been investing a lot in rehabilitating these rivers.
00:40 They look beautiful, but as a chemist, you wonder if it's really the same story underneath.
00:48 It may look clean, but there should probably be more investigation about the rivers.
00:56 And when we look at the data, literature, we find that there's still more work to do.
01:01 So, yeah, we look at sediment and water samples taken from various parts of the river system,
01:09 and we analyze them for persistent organic pollutants.
01:12 So what environmental and public health risks, Norwell, are associated with the presence of these emerging contaminants in the river system?
01:23 Yes, so we, persistent organic pollutants are basically compounds that come from derivatives of pharmaceutical waste
01:32 or industrial processes or household chemicals or agriculture and the like.
01:42 And they have the potential to be harmful to the environment, bioaccumulate in organisms.
01:49 And eventually, as a public health concern, down the line, it can cause cancers, reproductive health diseases.
01:56 It can alter immune systems and neurobehavioral impairments and such things that we have very long-term effects that we don't find out immediately.
02:07 This is indeed a very risky and very dangerous for all our Kababayans.
02:12 And so, Norwell, any policy or management recommendations from your research findings?
02:19 So we're still in the early stage of the research, and we don't want to sound any alarms just yet,
02:27 but this research is sort of a heads up because we find that the data points to that the source or the driver of the potential organic pollutants in the river
02:39 is basically agriculture runoff. At the head of the river, there are a lot of farms, rice fields, mostly rice fields,
02:50 and some of the chemicals that we find downstream, even in the urbanized areas, are actually related to agricultural practices.
03:00 So we're looking at runoff.
03:02 So this research that you have started, Norwell…
03:05 This would be…
03:06 Wait, where are you?
03:07 Norwell, this research that you have, how can it be adapted in the environmental protection and conservation efforts,
03:14 not only in the region but across the country?
03:16 Yeah, so we already have the capacity to do this kind of research,
03:23 and we propose long-term monitoring projects for potential organic pollutants.
03:31 Maybe we can partner with the LGU, EMB, DA, Department of Health,
03:39 to sort of set up a long-term monitoring program for these types of compounds in the rivers,
03:45 not just in Iloilo City but also in the region.
03:48 Norwell, thank you so much, and continue this good work of your research to help our environment and our rivers.
03:56 Norwell Batista of the NRCP Division of Chemical Sciences.
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