STI College San Pablo

Lopez Jaena St., Lim Chok Bldg., San Pablo City

Heavy Metal Contamination in Water and

Aquaculture Commodities in Manila Bay

Submitted to:
Nino Donato

Submitted by:
Dela Pena, Mikaela
Carino, Christine Mary B.

October 25, 2021

 Introduction

Manila Bay is land lock by Metro Manila and the municipalities of Bataan, Bulacan,

Cavite, and Pampanga and is situated at the southwestern part of Luzon. Manila bay is popular

among the Filipino’s and tourists for the numerous benefits, livelihood opportunities, ecotourism

benefits and habitats to a number of terrestrial aquatic organism (Dacanay, 2007).

Fishing is the primary source of livelihood in areas around the Manila Bay due to the body

of water being known as one of the premier fishing grounds in the country. Communities

surrounding Manila Bay often benefit from the bountiful aquatic resources. However, despite all

these resources being beneficial to all Filipinos especially those living near the bay, the said

aquaculture commodities are constantly under threat.

According to the study conducted by (Perelonia, et al., 2017), population expansion, rapid

urbanization, uncontrolled coast, and basin development and mismanagement of resources are

apparent in many areas around the bay. Products of modernization are considered major threats to

the bay’s sustainability and productivity because these products result in water pollution, including

heavy metal pollution.

The study is about the water contamination in Manila Bay caused by heavy metal pollution,

in particular, high concentrations of lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), and mercury (Hg),

in the surrounding coastal communities of Manila Bay.

The purpose of this study is to further understand how the heavy metal contamination affect

the Manila Bay and its aquaculture commodities, as well as provide an appropriate mitigation

method to the heavy metal contamination.

 Discussion

According to (Perez et al. 1999), Manila Bay is one of the important coastal marine

ecosystems in the country. The bay has served as a major avenue for trade and commerce and

considered to be the second most productive fishing ground in the Philippines. Now, however,

several studies show that the said ecosystem is being threatened and adversely affected by

overexploitation, pollution, as well as the heavy metal contamination in the marine environment

due to human activities that contribute significantly to the release of domestic, agricultural, and

industrial wastes along the coastal areas of Manila Bay.

Figure 1. State of Manila Bay

There have been several studies conducted to assess the contamination of heavy mental in

Manila Bay. According to (Su et al. 2009), heavy metal particularly total chromium, total lead,

and total cadmium were evident in the bay waters, fish, and macroinvertebrates.

The study conducted by (Velaszquez et al. 2010) showed that the total dissolved copper

and cadmium were unstable while total dissolved zinc was organically bound. The elevated levels

of these metals near point sources suggested that there is an immense anthropogenic input in the

bay.
 According to (Manila Bulletin, 2021), two decades after the Supreme Court ordered 13

government agencies led by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to

clean up Manila Bay, its waters remain unfit for human contact, filled with viruses and bacteria

coming from the rivers and sewage outlets flowing into it from the cities and towns around. There

are other rivers and streams pouring into the bay from the surrounding provinces of Bataan,

Zambales, Pampanga, and Bulacan in the north to Cavite in the south.

According to (Oluyemi et al. 2008), continuous urbanization and industrialization along

with the increase of population and different anthropogenic activities result in the increment of

these heavy metals to alarming levels necessitating that regulatory standard are to be set.

According to (US EPA, 2016), rainfall causes urban runoff, a non-point source of pollution,

that carries several contaminants, including heavy metals draining into river systems and enters

aquaculture farms through water exchange activities.

Aside from the observed seasonal distribution of heavy metal contamination in aquaculture

farms, spatial distribution was also observed. Cadmium was found highest in Pampanga, where

farming, fishing, manufacturing, handicrafts, poultry and swine, food processing industries, as well

as ceramics and metalworking are the main sources of livelihood (pampanga.gov.ph).

Pampanga is adjacent to Zambales, which houses Mount Pinatubo, an active volcano.

Volcanic action is known as one of the natural sources of cadmium not only in the atmosphere but

also in the soil, which in turn gets washed off into river systems (Buat-Ménard et al, 1987; Hutton

et al, 1987).
 Some aquaculture farmers do not observe proper buffer zone nor monitor water quality;

they had the highest population of chicken and wild birds among the provinces, and used chicken

manure and urea as fertilizers, as reported in the previous study conducted by the group, “Review

of Aquaculture Practice and Anthropogenic Activities in Manila Bay Aquaculture Farms.”

Inorganic fertilizers such as urea as well as chicken manure may contain trace metals such

as cadmium, which are deposited in pond sediment (Benson et al, 2014; Boyd & Masaut, 1999).

Figure 2. Concentration of Cadmium

Mercury was found highest in Cavite where the population is highest among the provinces

sampled (NSO, 2010).

According to (The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 2012), mercury is primarily used in

dental amalgams, fluorescent lights, thermometers, electric switches, batteries, insecticide,

disinfectant, rat poisons, and even in skin ointments. Since the province has the highest population,

it is safe to assume that production as well as usage of above-mentioned products is highest in the

province and so is mercury emission.

 According to (Lindberg et al., 2987) mercury is discharged into the air or water through

point sources. This in turn gets into aquaculture farms by way of river systems. In addition,

aquaculture farmers in Cavite bypass residual waste removal and water.

Figure 3. Concentration of Mercury

Lead, which is known to come from gasoline, batteries, ammunition, paint, ceramics, and

even in cosmetics was found highest in Bataan, where oil and gasoline companies, refineries, and

feed mills are the major industry sectors. The province, which will soon be considered a special

defense economic zone, has also been manufacturing ammunition for nearly 60 years. Aquaculture

farmers in the province use urea, an inorganic fertilizer that may contribute to the concentration of

lead in the water.

Figure 4. Concentration of Lead

 According to the risk assessment conducted by PEAMSEA and MBEMP TWG-RRA

(2004), results showed that the concentrations of HM in water around river mouths were higher

than in the water inside the bay, suggesting that the contribution of land-based human activities is

a major source of pollution.

Figure 5. Concentrations of Heavy Metals

Heavy metals in the environment creates an immense treat to the existence of the organisms

thriving in the area, to the ecological integrity of the habitats as these heavy metals may enter the

food chains, persist in the environment, bioaccumulate and increase the exposure to public health

risk.

The heavy metal contamination in Manila Bay can still be alleviated. According to (Manila

Bulletin, 2021), as Secretary Cimatu pointed out in 2018, it will take many years to clean up Manila

Bay. It will take considerable funds which Congress has to approve. And it will take the

coordinated efforts of many agencies, national and local, government and private businesses and

civic organizations.
 Recommendation
It must be known that the clean-up of Manila Bay requires a significant amount of funds

in order to be put into action, there is, however, a relatively low-cost, natural solution to the heavy

metal contamination in the water and aquaculture commodities in Manila Bay. This method is

called Phytoremediation.

Growing plants can help contain or reduce heavy metal pollution, according to (EPA 1988),

this is often called phytoremediation. There is no quick fix to pollution and it is the same for heavy

metal contamination. Phytoremediation takes longer to accomplish compared to other mitigations

for heavy metal pollution such as excavation and stabilization.

There are three ways to implement phytoremediation: phytostabilization, phytoextraction,

or rhizofiltration. Phytostabilization is the process when the contaminated site is simply

revegetated. In here, plants are used to reduce wind and water erosion that can spread materials

containing heavy metals. An example application of phytostabilization is how grass or tree buffers

reduce sediment loss from areas contaminated, thereby minimizing the spreading of heavy metal

pollution. However, revegetating the entire coastal areas of Manila Bay requires a significant

amount of fund as well as time, it would also be necessary to find plants that could tolerate high

levels of heavy metals.

Figure 6. Process of phytostabilization

 Phytoextraction is another way plants can be used to clean up heavy metal contaminated

soil. There are some plants that can take up heavy metals and concentrate them in their tissue, these

plants can be harvested and the plant will be disposed of safely. Plants belonging to this type are

Indian mustard, juniper, and poplar trees. These, however, are not available in the Philippines.

Figure 7. Process of phytoextraction

The third process is called rhizofiltration. According to research conducted by (EPA,

2000), In this method, heavy metals are removed directly from water by plant roots. The plants are

grown directly in water or in water rich materials such as sand, using aquatic species or

hydrophonic methods. In field tests, sunflowers on floating rafts have removed radioactive metals

from water in ponds at Chernobyl, and other plants removed metals from mine drainage flowing

through diversion troughs.

Figure 8. Process of rhizofioltration

 Sunflowers are the best suited plant for rhizofiltration due to its ability to not only be able

to absorb lead, but also other dangerous heavy metals like arsenic, zinc, chromium, copper, and

manganese.

According to the study conducted by (Kitrinos, 2014), sunflowers are able to take heavy

metals from contaminated soil in a way that’s completely natural and unharmful to the soil and its

surrounding ecosystems. Sunflowers are hyper-accumulator, which means that they uptake metals

from soil in large quantities.

There are other alternatives such as Rye, Spinach, and Indian Mustard, however, these

cannot be used as Rye and Spinach are limited resources as well as consumed, while Indian

Mustard cannot be found in the Philippines.

Manila Bay is a large body of water and it is not possible to achieve a complete clean-up

of the area, thus rhizofiltration can only mitigate the heavy metal contamination through the

implementation of the photoremediation in areas where the heavy metals are more concentrated.

In particular, the coastal areas of Pampanga which produces the most Cadmium (Cd)

contamination, Cavite region where Mercury (Hg) contamination is heavier, and the coastal area

of Bataan where Lead (Pb) involved.

 Conclusion
Due to the excessive anthropogenic activities conducted by humans near the coastal areas

of Manila Bay, heavy metals are able to enter the aquatic ecosystem. Heavy metal contamination

can be carried with soil particles that are swept away from the initial location of pollution by wind

and rain, once these soil particles have settled, the heavy metals may spread into the surrounding,

polluting more areas. Heavy metal contamination creates an immense threat because of their

persistence in nature and accumulation in organisms. Aquaculture commodities such as fish absorb

these metals through ingestion of contaminated water, sediments, suspended soils, and prey

organisms. Heavy metals are observed to undergo bioaccumulation in the tissue of aquatic

organisms. With this bioaccumulation, not only are the environment and resources are affected,

even the human population will be affected.

A way to mitigate the heavy metal contamination in the water and aquaculture commodities

in Manila Bay is through phytoremediation, in particular, rhizofiltration, which allows heavy

metals to be directly removed from water by plant roots. Not only is rhizofiltration relatively low-

cost, it also has the benefit of being a natural solution to the environmental problem.
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