Haze endangers Palangkaraya residents<\/p>\n
Agencies, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Air pollution levels in Central Kalimantan were off the scale and
\npeople were in grave danger of dying painful deaths from carbon
\nmonoxide (CO) poisoning, officials said Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Palangkaaraya Air Laboratorium head Andrie Manurung said
\nlevels of carbon monoxide and dust particles in the air had
\nexceeded test parameters in Palangkaraya.<\/p>\n
The concentration of dust particles in the air (PM10) was
\nalready 1,525 microgram\/M3 on Tuesday, far in excess of the
\nnormal level of 50 microgram\/M3.<\/p>\n
The concentration of (C0) reached 19,66 milligram\/M3 or the
\ndanger category.<\/p>\n
Andrie said CO, if inhaled, would enter the hemoglobin (red
\ncells) and destroy nervous systems and eyesight.<\/p>\n
\"It could lead to heart rhythm disorder, dizzy, paralysis,
\ncomma, breath obstruction, and death. Therefore I urge the
\ncitizens to stay indoors as much as possible,\" Andrie was quoted
\nby Antara as saying.<\/p>\n
The city by day resembled a city at night due to the thick
\nhaze that forced citizens to seal their homes and motorists to
\nwear masks to avoid the choking smoke.<\/p>\n
\"Visibility is below 50 metres today and it seems like there's
\nno life here. We are praying for heavy rain to clear the thick
\nsmoke,\" airport official Jamaluddin Hasibuan told Reuters by
\ntelephone from Palangkaraya, 875 kilometers northeast of Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Many people are reportedly suffering from eye and respiratory
\nproblems from the dust particles from forest and ground fires.<\/p>\n
The sick are clogging health centers in the city, including
\nDr. Doris Sylvanus General Hospital.<\/p>\n
\"Respiratory problems are mounting and children are the ones
\nsuffering the most. We have also had an outbreak of diarrhea
\nbecause of the lack of clean water,\" said Dr. Eka.<\/p>\n
Central Kalimantan has been hardest hit by the haze and the
\nmain airport in Palangkaraya has been closed since the fourth
\nweek of August.<\/p>\n
Several schools are also closed and government officials have
\ndecided not to turn up to work.<\/p>\n
Activities at shopping centers, however, remain normal
\nalthough a bit sluggish.<\/p>\n
In Pontianak, the capital of West Kalimantan province, the sky
\nwas clear early in the morning with visibility of around three
\nkilometers, but soon lessened to two kilometers as smoke blew in
\nfrom burning forests in Ketapang district and Central Kalimantan.<\/p>\n
\"We have had rains in several areas of Pontianak last night
\nthat have helped clear the sky and we are expecting more rain as
\nsatellite images show a large concentration of clouds over our
\nprovince,\" an employee at the Pontianak meteorology office told
\nAFP.<\/p>\n
In Muara Teweh, a district town in Central Kalimantan,
\nvisibility was slightly better at 500 meters by 11:00 a.m.
\nbecause of rains the previous day, Achmad Yani of the local
\nmeteorology office said.<\/p>\n
In Sampit, another district town of Central Kalimantan,
\nvisibility was around 800 meters at noon, said Musa Hanaya of the
\nlocal meteorology office.<\/p>\n
Haze has also begun to cover parts of Sumatra, curtailing
\nvisibility to 400 meters in Pekanbaru, the capital of Riau
\nprovince, for the first few hours after dawn.<\/p>\n
Illegal loggers and farmers are blamed for the fires which
\nthey light to clear their fields for the next planting season.<\/p>\n
Smoke from the fires has also affected neighboring Singapore
\nand Malaysia although it is not as bad as in 1997 and 1998, when
\ndense haze cost regional economies US$9 billion in damage to
\nfarming, transport and tourism.<\/p>",
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