NONGOVERNMENTAL organizations that are campaigning to close down operations at the oil depot in Manila's Pandacan area say there is a high concentration of benzene, said to be a cancer-causing hydrocarbon compound, in the vicinity of the fuel facility.

A Pilipinas Shell executive said Shell and the other oil companies were complying with requirements of the Clean Air Act in reducing the benzene content of gasoline products. Officials of the United Front to Oust the Oil Depot and the Manila chapter of the Akbayan Citizens Action Party said results of laboratory tests conducted by the Washington-based Columbia Analytical Services Inc. last month showed 9.1 micrograms per cubic meter of benzene in two air samples taken from the communities surrounding the Pandacan depot.

This was well above the "levels of concern" observed by various government and private environment groups in the United States, said Francesca Francia of the NGO called Global Community Monitoring (GCM).

Francia said the ill effects of the depot on the health of Pandacan residents should convince local and national governments to phase out the facility, which is used by the three major oil companies in the Philippines -- Shell, Caltex Philippines, and Petron Corp.

She said the results of the air sample tests showed a "connection between the symptoms (displayed by many Pandacan residents) and the toxic emissions."

Roberto Kanapi, Pilipinas Shell Petroleum's general manager for external affairs, in a phone interview declined to comment on the findings but said Shell was willing to meet with Global Community Monitor to learn how the study was made.

"We would want to know what process was used and what the bases were for the report so that we could correlate or verify (the results)," he said.

He added that Shell had been complying with the Clean Air Act requirement for reduction of the benzene content of gasoline products since the start of the year.

The law mandates that all gasoline products sold and used in the country starting Jan. 1 have a maximum benzene content of two percent by volume, from a previous maximum of four percent.

According to the US National Library for Medicine Toxicology Data Network, benzene "is known to be one of the most carcinogenic substances in the world."

Long-term exposure to benzene is known to cause cancer of the lung, liver, ovary, breast and stomach, the NGOs said. Benzene targets blood and related systems, hitting blood and bone marrow cells the hardest.

Benzene also causes numerous blood-related disorders, known to cripple the nervous, respiratory and immune systems.

A major concern is the strong relationship between benzene and leukemia. It is widely believed that benzene's toxicity stems from its effects on DNA during cellular reproduction.

Francia said the findings on the toxic emissions would be compared with effects on the health of many Pandacan residents that the GCM documented.

"A survey will be done to more concretely document the effects of the depot on residents' health," she said.

Akbayan-Manila's Dick Gabac told the Inquirer that they would appeal to the health and environment departments to conduct an investigation and independently validate the Columbia findings.

Gabac said the lab results may explain why many residents in the district, especially those living near the depot, are getting sick.

He said they are planning to send another air sample to the US for additional testing.

Aside from benzene, the Columbia research group also found various chemicals in the air samples, such as ethanol (90/ug/m3), toluene (37 ug/m3), 2-butanone (12 ug/m3), m-xylene (12 ug/m3), p-xylene (12 ug/m3) and o-xylene (5.1 ug/m3).

The values, however, are not above any levels of concern.

The samples were taken last January using so-called "air testing buckets" approved by the US EPA.

GCM, a California-based international NGO out to promote health and environment interests, commissioned the Columbia tests in coordination with the United Front to Oust the Oil Depot and the Akbayan Citizens Action Party's Manila chapter.

The US Environmental Protection Agency sees no health effects occurring below a benzene content of 0.250 ug/m3 of air.

The Texas Natural Conservation Commission sees no long-term health effects below an average benzene exposure level of 3.00 ug/m3 within 24 hours.

The North Carolina Annual Ambient Air Standard is 0.120 ug/m3. Concentrations of benzene above this level for over a period of one year are illegal in that state.

The American Toxic Substances and Disease Registry sees "no appreciable risk of non-cancer health effects" from being exposed to concentrations up to 4.70 ug/m3 between two weeks and one year, according to the NGOs.

Lawyer Vladimir Cabigao, convenor of the NGO called UFO-OD, said the lab findings could be used in filing damage suits against the three oil firms.

He called on the Manila city government to implement the ordinance shutting down the depot.

UFO-OD argues that the oil depot is a potential terrorist target and a fire hazard.

Officials of the oil companies say closure of the depot while a war raged in Iraq would lead to a fuel shortage and oil price hikes in the country.

"The oil companies cannot use war as an excuse because war is a temporary inconvenience," Cabigao told the Inquirer. "The long-term health risks should now be given focus."