Half of St John's Island closed after asbestos found
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Audrey Tan Straits Times 23 Apr 18;
SINGAPORE - Debris containing a potentially toxic mineral was recently found on St John's Island, leading the authorities to seal off more than half of the island as a safety precaution.
Traces of asbestos had been detected on April 16 in construction debris such as roof tiles around the island's campsite, lagoon and holiday bungalow area, the Singapore Land Authority (SLA) announced at a media briefing on Monday.
Even though the risk of visitors developing asbestos-related diseases is low due to short-term exposure to the mineral, SLA said it took the precaution of cordoning off the affected areas the following day (April 17). SLA, which manages the island, also closed off the campsite and cancelled about a dozen bookings for the holiday bungalow.
The two long-term residents on St John's Island, whose homes fall within the affected areas, also moved back to the mainland on April 18. SLA said they were found to be in good health.
Asbestos is a fibrous mineral that was once a popular component in construction materials. Due to its links to health problems such as lung cancer, its use in buildings was banned in Singapore in 1989, but many earlier structures still contain the substance.
Structures containing asbestos pose no risk to humans if they are intact. However, when there is damage or disturbance - such as sawing and cutting - fibres may be released into the air and inhaled.
In this case, the asbestos was found in construction debris such as roof tiles. SLA is investigating how the debris came to the island.
Asbestos-related diseases such as lung cancer or asbestocis, the progressive scarring of the lungs, occur mainly in people who have continuous years of exposure to high levels of asbestos, said Associate Professor Loo Chian Min, senior consultant for respiratory and critical care medicine at the Singapore General Hospital.
He said that casual visitors to St John's Island should not be unduly worried.
However, for the two long-term islanders, Prof Loo said: "I would advise them to go for a baseline health check. For asbestos to cause any illness, they would need 10 to 40 years before anything can happen. So a baseline would help to ascertain their health condition now, so there can be a comparison if anything should happen later."
Dr Jim Teo, a respiratory physician at Parkway East Hospital, said that the time and dosage of exposure could increase the risk of lung complications. While short term exposure to high concentrations of asbestos in an enclosed space may be potentially harmful, it could also take years to show, he said.
"Nowadays, exposure to asbestos is decreased... But asbestos was widely used decades ago, and as a result, we encounter cases only now," Dr Teo told The Straits Times.
He said a detailed history of the patient's occupation and the materials they handled at work provide important clues to their past exposure to the toxic mineral.
During the briefing on Monday, SLA said the affected areas will likely re-open only in mid-2019, after asbestos removal and other construction works are completed.
But visitors can still make the trip to the neighbouring Lazarus Island, which is connected to St John's Island by a bridge.
The ferries from Marina South Pier to the island will also continue plying the route.
Even though official figures show that at least 200 asbestos-removal cases take place every year, the asbestos on St John's Island is only the second prominent case.
The first was in 2016, when SLA found that the corrugated roof sheets of terraced houses in Chip Bee Gardens had asbestos in some of them.
In an update on Monday (April 23), SLA chief executive Tan Boon Khai said replacement works at Chip Bee are still ongoing.
Ms Ria Tan, who documents the creatures found in Singapore's nature areas, including the lagoons on St John's Island, said the incident raised a few questions, including how the asbestos debris landed on the island.
Ms Tan, who writes on on the wildsingapore.com blog, said: "Going forward, how will the authorities ensure future proper disposal of general trash and industrial and construction waste?"
More than half of St John's Island cordoned off after debris with asbestos found
Eugenia Lim Channel NewsAsia 23 Apr 18;
SINGAPORE: More than half of St John's Island has been cordoned off after debris containing asbestos was found on the island, the Singapore Land Authority (SLA) said on Monday (Apr 23).
The areas blocked off to the public include most of the island’s facilities such as the nature trail, campsite, lagoon and the holiday bungalow area, said SLA, which manages the island.
The closure took effect last Tuesday, a day after samples taken from the campsite, lagoon and holiday bungalow area tested positive for asbestos.
Asbestos is a naturally occurring mineral which was commonly used as a construction material in the past. The use of asbestos in building materials has been banned in Singapore since 1989 due to concerns about health risks.
Senior consultant of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine at the Singapore General Hospital, Professor Loo Chian Min, said the health risk was low for casual visitors to the island.
"We shouldn’t expect any health issues for visitors. I wouldn’t be particularly concerned," said Prof Loo.
“For someone who is occupationally exposed for a long time, they can develop a few things, such as asbestosis, where the lungs get scarred, which leads to breathlessness,” he said.
"The risk of lung cancer and mesothelioma, which is the cancer of the lining of the lungs and the heart, are the main health risks.”
CAMPSITE TO REOPEN MID-2019
SLA said that removal works will start this Friday and will be completed by the end of the year. It aims to reopen the campsite by mid-2019.
Meanwhile, the authority has cancelled all bookings for the island’s facilities. Fewer than a dozen bookings have been affected, it said.
SLA chief executive Tan Boon Khai said it had yet to determine the source of the debris which tested positive for asbestos.
"It could have been there for some time, but we are investigating the matter," he said.
Regarding the two residents who grew up and live on St John’s Island, Mr Tan said they were in good health and have moved to the mainland after being informed of the asbestos.
SLA said it will continue to follow up with the two residents, and they will be allowed to return to their homes when the cordoned area is deemed safe.
The authority, which took over the management of the island from the Sentosa Development Corp in March last year, had been carrying out maintenance and upgrading works to enhance the existing facilities.
It was during the works that SLA's contractors discovered the debris, and extracted samples around the campsite, lagoon and holiday bungalow area for further asbestos testing on Mar 19.
Last Monday, the asbestos surveyor appointed by SLA confirmed the presence of asbestos in the samples. It was not detected on the rest of the island, which houses a Marine Aquaculture Centre.
The regular scheduled ferry timings to St John’s Island will continue to be available throughout the removal works. Visitors will still be able to cross the linkway which connects St John’s Island to Lazarus Island.
Source: CNA/nc
St John’s Island campsite to be closed till mid-2019 for removal of asbestos: SLA
LOUISA TANG Today Online 23 Apr 18;
SINGAPORE — The recreational areas of St John’s Island will be closed till the middle of next year, after asbestos — a hazardous material that could cause lung cancer and other illnesses if its fibres are inhaled over a prolonged period — was discovered on the island.
Announcing the closure on Monday (April 23), the Singapore Land Authority (SLA) said for safety reasons, the public will not be allowed into the campsite, lagoon and bungalow areas on the Southern island located some 6.5km to the south of the mainland.
About a dozen bookings for the campsite have been cancelled, and the monthly-guided nature trail — run by the National Parks Board — has also been cancelled till the site is re-opened.
The public can, however, continue to access Lazarus Island via St John’s Island, and ferry services from Marina South will not be affected.
The other half of the island that houses research facilities, such as the St John’s Island National Marine Laboratory, will also remain open.
Taking the media through the sequence of events, the SLA said its contractors, who were carrying out upgrading and maintenance works on the campsite, had discovered traces of asbestos in debris — which may have come from the roof sheets — on March 19.
The agency then worked with its surveyor to test the debris, and confirmed the presence of asbestos on April 16.
On April 17, it cancelled all campsite and holiday bungalow bookings on the island, and on April 18, two long-term residents of the island, who grew up there, were notified and they have since relocated to their homes on the mainland.
At the media briefing, SLA chief executive Tan Boon Khai said: “We have been in touch with them and we understand that they are in good health."
The SLA will begin removing the asbestos from Friday (April 27), and removal works are expected to be completed at the end of the year. The campsite will be reopened in mid-2019 once upgrading and maintenance works are completed.
The use of asbestos — a naturally-occurring mineral — in building materials has been banned since 1989 due to concerns about their health risks. Mr Tan told reporters that the agency is investigating the source of the asbestos and will not speculate further, though they “most likely” came from roof sheets.
“From the debris that is there, it could have been there for some time, but we are investigating the matter,” he added.
The SLA, which took over the management of the island from Sentosa Development Corporation (SDC）last year, does not actively track the number of visitors to the island, though in 2014, SDC had reported that the island receives some 28,000 visitors annually.
Casual visitors to the island need not be particularly concerned about their health, said Associate Professor Loo Chian Min, senior consultant at the Singapore General Hospital’s respiratory and critical care medicine department.
This is because asbestos poses a risk only to those who inhale its fibres over a long period of between 10 and 40 years, affecting mostly people who work with prolonged exposure to high levels of it. Asbestos fibres can cause diseases such as mesothelioma and lung cancer.
In 2016, some of the terrace houses at Chip Bee Gardens near Holland Village were found to contain asbestos. The SLA is still replacing all affected roof awnings and clearing the asbestos “over time”. “That is quite a different situation because that was contained and untouched in a house environment,” Mr Tan said.
Risk to St John's Island visitors low, says expert
Asbestos-linked diseases affect mainly those with long exposure to high levels of substance
Audrey Tan Straits Times 24 Apr 18;
Debris containing a potentially toxic mineral was recently found on St John's Island, leading the authorities to seal off more than half of the island as a safety precaution.
Traces of asbestos were detected on April 16 in construction debris such as roof tiles around the island's campsite, lagoon and holiday bungalow area, the Singapore Land Authority (SLA) said at a media briefing yesterday .
Even though the risk of visitors developing asbestos-related diseases is low due to short-term exposure to the mineral, SLA said it took the precaution of cordoning off the affected areas the following day. SLA, which manages the island, also closed off the campsite and cancelled about a dozen bookings for the holiday bungalow.
The two long-term residents on St John's Island, whose homes are within the affected areas, moved to the mainland last Wednesday. SLA said they were found to be in good health.
Asbestos is a fibrous mineral that was once a popular component in construction materials.
Due to its links to health problems such as lung cancer, its use in buildings was banned in Singapore in 1989, but many earlier structures still contain the substance.
Structures containing asbestos pose no risk to humans if they are intact. However, when there is damage or disturbance - such as sawing and cutting - fibres may be released into the air and inhaled.
In this case, the asbestos was found in construction debris such as roof tiles. SLA is investigating how the debris came to the island.
REASSURANCE
For asbestos to cause any illness, it would need 10 to 40 years before anything can happen.
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR LOO CHIAN MIN, a senior consultant for respiratory and critical care medicine at Singapore General Hospital, saying casual visitors to St John's Island should not be unduly worried.
Asbestos-related diseases such as lung cancer or asbestosis - the progressive scarring of the lungs - occur mainly in people who have continuous years of exposure to high levels of asbestos, said Associate Professor Loo Chian Min.
The senior consultant for respiratory and critical care medicine at the Singapore General Hospital said casual visitors to St John's Island should not be unduly worried.
However, for the two long-term islanders, Prof Loo said: "I would advise them to go for a baseline health check.
"For asbestos to cause any illness, it would need 10 to 40 years before anything can happen. So a baseline would help to ascertain their health condition now, so there can be a comparison if anything should happen later."
Dr Jim Teo, a respiratory physician at Parkway East Hospital, said the time and dosage of exposure could increase the risk of lung complications. While short-term exposure to high concentrations of asbestos in an enclosed space may be potentially harmful, it could also take years to show, he added.
"Nowadays, exposure to asbestos is decreased... But asbestos was widely used decades ago and, as a result, we encounter cases only now," Dr Teo told The Straits Times.
He said a detailed history of the patients' occupation and the materials they handled at work provide important clues to their past exposure to the toxic mineral.
At yesterday's briefing, SLA said the affected areas will likely reopen only in the middle of next year, after asbestos removal and other construction works are completed.
CEO of SLA Tan Boon Khai on asbestos found on St John's Island
But visitors can still make the trip to the neighbouring Lazarus Island, which is connected to St John's Island by a bridge. The ferries from Marina South Pier to the island will also continue plying the route.
Staff working at the two research facilities on the island - the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority's aquaculture facility and the St John's Island National Marine Laboratory - can also continue to go to work, but will have to reach their laboratories via alternative routes.
Even though official figures show that at least 200 asbestos-removal cases take place every year, the asbestos found on St John's Island is only the second prominent case.
The first was in 2016, when SLA found that the corrugated roof sheets of terraced houses in Chip Bee Gardens had asbestos in some of them. In an update yesterday, SLA chief executive Tan Boon Khai said replacement works at Chip Bee are still ongoing.
Ms Ria Tan, who documents the creatures found in Singapore's nature areas, including the lagoons on St John's Island, said the incident raised a few questions, including how the asbestos debris landed on the island.
Ms Tan, who writes on the wildsingapore.com blog, said: "Going forward, how will the authorities ensure future proper disposal of general trash and industrial and construction waste?"
Heritage blogger Jerome Lim said he is concerned that asbestos may be undetected in other areas.
"In this case, the risk seems low due to the short-term exposure of users to the affected facilities on the island, but it may not be the case in other instances."
Antara 23 Apr 18;
Pekanbaru, Riau (ANTARA News) - The population of Sumatran tigers (Panthera tigris sumatrae) reaches 400 across Sumatran forests, according to the Environmental Affairs and Forestry Ministry.
Sumatran tigers could be found in Ulu Masen National Park, Kerumutan sanctuary, Rimbang Baling, Bukit Tiga Puluh, and up to Lampung, Wiratno, director general for Natural Resources and Ecosystem Conservation Affairs of the ministry said here, recently.
Panthera tigris sumatrae, one of the six remaining tiger species in the world, is currently in the brink of extinction due to conversion of Sumatran forests, he remarked.
He called for protection of the tiger habitats and food cycles in their habitats on Sumatra Island.
"There is a drastic change of forest function in Sumatra," he stated.
In Riau Province, some 190 Sumatran tigers exist, or one third of the total tiger population on Sumatra Island.
The tiger habitat in Riau is located in Kerumutan forest sanctuary, which was also the habitat of Bonita.
Bonita, four years old tigress, which had roamed around in human settlements and plantations since January 2018, had killed one woman and one man.
On April 20, Bonita was capture alive, after being shot twice with tranquilizer, Riau Natural Resources Conservation Agency head Suharyono said in the provincial capital of Pekanbaru on Saturday.
Bonita is currently being kept in an animal rehabilitation center owned by Arsari Djojohadikusumo Foundation, for observation.
reported Anggi Romadhoni
(T.SYS/B/F001/F001)
Editor: Heru Purwanto
The discovery of the Tapanuli orangutan has not stopped a Chinese state-run company from clearing forest for a planned dam. Conservationists fear this will be the beginning of the end for a species only known for six months
Jeremy Hance The Guardian 23 Apr 18;
Last November scientists made a jaw-dropping announcement: they’d discovered a new great ape hiding in plain sight, only the eighth inhabiting our planet.
The Tapanuli orangutan survives in northern Sumatra and it is already the most endangered great ape in the world; researchers estimate less than 800 individuals survive. But the discovery hasn’t stopped a Chinese state-run company, Sinohydro, from moving ahead with clearing forest for a large dam project smack in the middle of the orangutan population. According to several orangutan experts, Sinohyrdo’s dam represents an immediate and existential threat to the Tapanuli orangutan.
“Building the dam means chopping the orangutan population in half,” Erik Meijaard, the director of Borneo Futures and one of the experts to describe Pongo tapanuliensis, said. “You end up with two smaller populations, and these will have much reduced chances of survival, because a small population is more likely to go extinct than a large one.”
Meijaard added, “with only 800 individuals of this species remaining, the hydrodam will significantly increase the likelihood of extinction.”
Planned for the lowlands of the Batang Toru ecosystem in the North Sumatra province, the dam will hit the highest density of Tapanuli orangutans left. Researchers say the 510 megawatt dam will directly impact around 10-20% of the population, but perhaps even worse it will sever the eastern and western population, making it impossible for them to reconnect.
“The impact will not just be the destruction of the habitat where they want to build the dam and roads, tunnel, electricity lines, but it will cause the extinction of two of the three sub-populations, and in addition create access and destroy the most important habitat of the only viable population left,” said Gabriella Fredriksson, a scientist with the Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Programme and another co-author on the paper describing the new species.
Greater access to the orangutans – due to new roads and cleared habitat – will likely lead to a spike in hunting orangutans and orangutans perishing in human-wildlife conflict. With only 800 left, any loss of animals is gravely problematic.
According to the conservationists, Sinohydro’s environmental management plan makes no reference to the orangutans (though the environmental impact assessment does). Despite this fact, the Indonesian government approved Sinohydro’s Batang Toru dam.
“The Indonesian government needs to respect its own laws,” Meijaard said. “Orangutans are protected species. The Indonesian law clearly prohibits any actions that harm a protected species or its nests. It is obvious that the hydrodam is harming a protected species, so why does the government allow this?”
In November – when the announcement of the new species hit newsstands across the world – the government signaled it would make the new ape a priority.
Wiratno, director general of Natural Resources and Conservation in the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, told the media that a government team would be sent to the region to make sure the orangutans were protected.
“We will conduct further examination concerning the crisis of the Tapanuli orangutans. I am sure that they will be conserved,” Wiratno said last year.
In the meantime, however, forest clearing is going on.
Wiratno and other government officials did not respond to requests to comment on the dam.
The dam project has also proven controversial with some local people, a protest last year ended violently. Requests for comment from Sinohydro have gone unanswered.
“Companies that are seeking to be leaders in this industry must uphold high environmental, ecological and social standards. It is irresponsible and reckless to undertake a project that would destroy the habitat of a critically endangered species,” Stephanie Jensen-Cormier, China program director at International Rivers, said.
Serge Wich, another co-author and a professor at Liverpool John Moores University, said the government should drop the hydropower plant and instead focus on a massive geothermal project north of the vulnerable orangutan population. The plant has the potential to be expanded to reach one gigawatt.
Fredriksson says Northern Sumatra “has a surplus of energy now.”
Of course, stopping the dam won’t ensure the survival of the Tapanuli orangutans. The species remains gravely imperiled by hunting, conflict with locals and habitat loss. However, if the dam goes ahead the species is almost sure to be slowly strangled.
“First of all, we need to ensure that the eastern and western populations in Batang Toru remain fully protected, that is zero habitat loss and zero killing,” said Fredriksson. “We also need to ensure that the eastern and western block remain connected. Once the Batang Toru populations are save and secure, reintroduction of the species into its historic range can be considered.”
Conservationists believe the last 800 Tapanuli orangutans are likely the last stand of a species that once spanned all of southern Sumatra – and may have even inhabited Java. This opens up the possibility that the species could be reintroduced to well-protected forests in the south – but first it has to be safeguarded from obliteration.
“The discovery [of the Tapanuli orangutan] showed that there is still a lot not known about the differences between populations in our nearest relatives and that studying such differences can even lead to a new species being described. In this case it was the first newly described great ape species since 1929,” said Wich, referencing the discovery of the bonobo in Africa.
It would be the first extinction of a great ape in millennia. One has to ask: is that worth 510 megawatts?
Sumatra’s megafauna is undergoing a wholesale collapse due to the usual suspects of hunting, snaring, poaching and habitat loss – especially as the palm oil and pulp and paper industries have steamrolled over the island leading to one of the highest deforestation records on the planet. The Sumatran rhino is nearly extinct with some 30-100 individuals left. The Sumatran tiger, the Sumatran elephant and the other orangutan species on the island – the Sumatran orangutan (Pongo abelii) – are all today listed as critically endangered.
These critically endangered “Sumatran Five” – rhinos, elephants, tigers and two orangutans – represent a failure of the global and local community to balance conservation with development. And to value life on planet Earth.
“If Pongo tapanuliensis disappears it wipes out a significant chunk of unique Indonesian evolutionary history, like the extinction of Java and Bali tiger,” Meijaard said.
It would also be the first extinction of a great ape – our closest relatives – in millennia. One has to ask: is that worth 510 megawatts?
Gemma Holliani Cahya The Jakarta Post 23 Apr 18;
Environmentalists reported an adventure reality show to the Indonesian Broadcasting Commission (KPI) on Monday, following an edition on Sunday night in which a group of people were seen to cook creatures that appeared to be protected giant clams in Derawan Islands, East Kalimantan.
The program by TransTV, Para Petualang Cantik (The Beautiful Adventurers), was criticized by activists from Profauna Indonesia, Urban Wildlife Conservation Forum and Eco Diver Journalists.
The activists said on Monday that such clams, locally known as kima, were listed in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) of the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources as protected animals.
They are also protected under Government Regulation No. 7/1999 on flora and fauna preservation.
The growth of giant clams, from egg until they build their own shell, is slow and they have become very rare as they can only live in pristine waters, a release from the environmentalists said.
“From millions of eggs, produced by adult ‘kima’, only a few dozen can survive until they get their shells as they are easy prey,” Eco Diver Journalists said in their release.
Head of the Science Journalism Department of Padjadjaran University, Herlina Agustin, said it would report the kima incident to the Environment and Forestry Ministry as well.
The KPI told The Jakarta Post it had already received the report from the activists.
“We are investigating the show,” KPI content monitoring coordinator Hardly Stefano Pariela said on Monday. (evi)
SOPHENG CHEANG, Associated Press Yahoo News 23 Apr 18;
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — The number of critically endangered Irrawaddy dolphins along a stretch of the Mekong River has increased for the first time in 20 years but the animals still face serious threats, Cambodia's government and a major conservation group said Monday.
A joint statement issued by the World Wide Fund for Nature and Cambodia's Fisheries Administration said a 2017 census pegged the population of the freshwater dolphins along a 190-kilometer (118-mile) stretch of river from Kratie in Cambodia to the Khone Falls in Laos at 92, a 15 percent increase over an estimate of 80 made in 2015.
"The Mekong dolphin is considered our country's living national treasure and the results of this census reflect our many years of continuous efforts to protect this species," said Eng Cheasan, the director-general of the Fisheries Administration. "We will continue our conservation efforts to rebuild its population by eliminating all threats to the survival of this species."
In addition to the Mekong, the dolphins can be found in only two other freshwater rivers: Myanmar's Irrawaddy and Indonesia's Mahakam, on the island of Borneo.
Despite the increase during the latest count, the number of dolphins in the Mekong is still less than half of the 200 counted during the first official census in 1997. Surveys are carried out every two to three years.
Seng Teak, the country director of WWF-Cambodia, warned at a news conference in the Cambodian capital, Phnom Penh, that the dolphins still face many threats to their existence, including illegal fishing methods, increasing boat traffic and ongoing dam projects.
The biggest threat to the dolphins has been getting caught up in gillnets, massive nets held in place vertically through the use of floats and weights, that trap marine life in their netting.
Seng Teak said several thousand meters (yards) of illegal fishing net has been confiscated and dozens of fishermen arrested, some being released after being taught the error of their ways, and others sent to court.
The survey found encouraging signs for the dolphins' long-term survival: an improvement in the survival rate of dolphins into adulthood, an increase in the number of calves and a drop in overall deaths. Two dolphins died in 2017 compared with nine in 2015, while nine new calves brought the number of dolphins born in the past three years to 32.
"After years of hard work, we finally have reason to believe that these iconic dolphins can be protected against extinction — thanks to the combined efforts of the government, WWF, the tourism industry and local communities," said Seng Teak.
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