154 Tangerang Residents Suffer Respiratory Infections Following Jatiwaringin Landfill Fire
The Tangerang District Health Office (Dinkes) has reported that 154 residents are suffering from symptoms of acute respiratory infection (ISPA) due to smoke from the fire at the Jatiwaringin Final Disposal Site (TPA) in Mauk, Banten. The data was collected from Tuesday night (30/6) to Wednesday (1/7).
Head of the Tangerang District Health Office, Hendra Tarmizi, revealed that the majority of those affected are from vulnerable groups, namely pregnant women and toddlers. Of the hundreds of patients, one pregnant woman had to be referred to the local Regional General Hospital (RSUD) for intensive care.
“We have examined approximately 154 people since Tuesday night. The majority are suffering from ISPA. There is one case, a pregnant woman, whom we referred to the RSUD for treatment,” Hendra stated in Tangerang on Wednesday (1/7).
In response to this emergency, the Health Office has deployed 25 medical personnel from community health centres (Puskesmas) in the Rajeg, Mauk, and Sukadiri sub-districts. The local government has also operated five integrated health posts, consisting of three posts in Rajeg District, one post in Sukadiri District, and one alert post at the Jatiwaringin TPA site itself.
In addition to medical treatment, the Health Office has begun mitigation efforts by increasing the stock of masks at Puskesmas predicted to be affected by the expanding smoke. “We have placed all Puskesmas on alert so that if the disaster smoke reaches their areas, they must be ready and prepared,” Hendra added.
Meanwhile, the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) continues to monitor the fire, which has the potential to spread. BNPB Head Suharyanto has instructed the deployment of two water-bombing helicopters to accelerate extinguishing efforts from the air, as the fire spots are located in piles of waste that are difficult for ground crews to reach.
To date, ground firefighting efforts are ongoing with the deployment of 10 fire engines. Personnel are facing challenges including highly flammable waste material, strong gusts of wind, and hot weather causing the fire to spread rapidly in multiple directions.