Environmental groups detect toxic vapors in Tondo - INQUIRER.net, Philippine News for Filipinos

Environmental groups detect toxic vapors in Tondo - INQUIRER.net, Philippine News for Filipinos: "Environmental groups are now urging proper toxic waste disposal after detecting mercury vapors in the port area of Tondo, Manila.

An investigation conducted by environmental groups Ban Toxics, Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives, Health Care Without Harm and the EcoWaste Coalition on April 19 yielded 'disturbing levels of mercury vapor in lamp waste recycling stations' of the Pier 18, Garbage Transfer Station.

In a statement, the groups explained that they used a hand-held ambient air analyzer to obtain mercury vapor data from the sites where the breaking of mercury-containing compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) is conducted.

The groups tested 14 used CFLs in two separate breaking sites. The average reading for the tested lamps was 117.20 micrograms per cubic meter (mcg/m3), with one product registering mercury vapor of 502.40 mcg/m3.

The permissible exposure limit for mercury vapor, as set by the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration, is 100 mcg/m3, according to the groups."

To save on rice: Eat camote for breakfast | The Philippine Star >> Business Features >> Agriculture

To save on rice: Eat camote for breakfast | The Philippine Star >> Business Features >> Agriculture: "As a solution to the “perennial” rice shortage the country is facing, a rural banker is promoting the serving of camote, instead of rice, on breakfast tables.

Roberto Alingog, president of PR Bank based in Cauayan, Isabela, who this writer met in Saigon, Vietnam recently, said that reduction in rice consumption would be tremendous if Filipinos eat camote once a day.

“They can take it during breakfast or lunch or dinner, whichever suits them best,” the banker who is a self-confessed camote beakfast-eater said.

He pointed out that instead of importing rice, the government should opt for reduction in consumption. “Apart from neutralizing the rice shortage, the government will save a lot of foreign exchange if importation is minimized or not availed of,” he said."

Monroe commissioners pay golden tribute to Peace Corps volunteers | PoconoRecord.com

Monroe commissioners pay golden tribute to Peace Corps volunteers | PoconoRecord.com: "'I wish I could make a proclamation that all teachers had to go into the Peace Corps and then come back,' said Letitia Lladoc, a retired teacher who served in the Philippines from 1964-66.

During her two-year tour, Lladoc taught English to public school students. While there she met her future husband, Jesse Lladoc, a local politician who became deputy governor of Leyte province. She stayed in the country for 15 years before returning to Monroe County with her husband."