By Mar-Vic Cagurangan
Variety News Staff

REPUBLICAN Sen. Frank Blas Jr. said yesterday he will look into reports linking toxic metal contamination to the prevalence of brain diseases on Guam.
“I am concerned about this issue. The people of Guam have the right to know this,” said Blas, a freshman senator.
He said the contamination issue is one of the items that he will focus on as chairman of the committee on health care, human services and homeland security.
“In order to address this problem, we have to recognize it,” Blas added.
The former director of Guam Homeland Security met with members of Nasion Chamoru on Sunday to discuss the environmental contamination issue.
Guam activists have been pressing the government to look into a researcher’s study, which concluded that the environment of Guam has high concentrations of toxic metals that may have caused the high prevalence of clinically distinct and deadly brain diseases such as Lytico-Bodig.
Dr. Luis Zyfres, a researcher at the University of Guam, released last month his preliminary report which he claimed UOG had tried to censor.
He said local government agencies were aware that Guam had been used as dumpsite for military chemicals but local and federal officials were not paying attention to its effect.
“I will meet with Dr. Zyfres and (UOG president) Dr. Harold Allen to see what this report is about,” Blas said.