Newmont questions police's Buyat Bay mercury tests<\/p>\n
Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post\/Jakarta<\/p>\n
PT Newmont Minahasa Raya questioned on Thursday the laboratory
\ntest results from the police on water and fish tissue samples
\nfrom Buyat Bay, North Sulawesi, which were inconsistent with
\ntests run by other institutions.<\/p>\n
The U.S.-based gold mining company's external relations
\nmanager, David Sompie, said all other tests conducted by several
\ninternationally and nationally certified laboratories indicated
\nthat the levels of mercury and arsenic in seawater were far below
\nthe standard set by the Office of the State Minister of the
\nEnvironment, while the police tests showed the bay was
\ncontaminated.<\/p>\n
Newmont has made headlines since a report surfaced two months
\nago that local fishermen of the bay were suffering from skin
\ndiseases that might have been caused by pollution.<\/p>\n
The company has been operating in the region since 1996, and
\nwill cease production next month.<\/p>\n
Police are questioning dozens of people as witnesses, but have
\nnot named any suspects as yet.<\/p>\n
David said tests of 390 samples conducted by ALS laboratory
\nshowed only 0.055 microgram\/Liter (u\/L) of mercury in the bay,
\nwhile tests by Sarpedal and CSIRO found almost the same level of
\nmercury, respectively 0.059 u\/L from 11 samples and 0.05 from 16
\nsamples.<\/p>\n
Ministerial Decree No. 51\/2004 on seawater pollution sets the
\nmercury level standard at 1 u\/L.<\/p>\n
On Wednesday, police said their tests showed that mercury
\ncontent in Buyat Bay measured 5.5 u\/L, 4 u\/L and 3.9 u\/L in three
\nsamples taken from different locations.<\/p>\n
National Police chief of detectives Comr. Gen. Suyitno Landung
\nSudjono said based on these results, the police concluded that
\nthe bay was contaminated by heavy metals.<\/p>\n
David said the disparate results might have been caused by
\ndifferent test methods or samples used by the institutions.<\/p>\n
\"It should be made clear whether the police measured the total
\nmercury content or only the dissolved mercury level in the water
\nof the bay, because the first will produce far higher results
\nthan the latter,\" he said.<\/p>\n
David said the 1 u\/L standard referred to the level of
\ndissolved mercury, not total mercury content.<\/p>\n
Newmont lawyer Palmer Situmorang said the government
\nenvironmental office had declared the bay was not contaminated,
\nand the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries had said fish
\nfrom the bay was safe to eat.<\/p>\n
Palmer said the apparent differences in test results as
\nreported by the press could not be confirmed because Newmont had
\nnot received official test results from the police.<\/p>\n
\"We trust the professionalism of the police to handle this
\ncase, but if the results as reported by the press are correct, we
\nmust question the results of tests that vary so dramatically from
\nthose of certified laboratories,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The company recommended that a certified laboratory with a
\nglobal reputation be hired to test and evaluate samples
\nindependently to resolve the matter.<\/p>\n
Separately, in reference to the company's impending closure,
\npresident director Richard Ness said Newmont had provided US$15
\nbillion toward a community development program as part of its
\npost-operational activities.<\/p>\n
\"This is part of our long-standing commitment and respect for
\nthe community,\" said Ness.<\/p>\n
He added that another $6 billion would be disbursed to develop
\na feasible business for the local community.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/newmont-questions-polices-buyat-bay-mercury-tests-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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