45 staffers treated, Carrefour operates

Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

It was business as usual at superstore Carrefour, Ratu Plaza shopping center, South Jakarta, on Thursday, even though 45 employees were still being treated at the private Pertamina Hospital, with six of them in the intensive care unit, allegedly due to gas poisoning.

Hospital deputy director Maridi Kartasasmita said that the patients had suffered from suffocation. However, Carrefour spokesman Triyono claimed the employees had been poisoned by vehicle exhaust gas.

A total of 52 employees were rushed to the hospital on Wednesday afternoon as they were believed to have inhaled the emission gases produced by cars jammed in Ratu Plaza parking lot in the basement. The Ratu Plaza branch of France-based Carrefour is located below ground level.

The retailer closed at 6:30 p.m. instead of 10 p.m. following the incident, but resumed operations on Thursday.

The management of Ratu Plaza was not available for comment.

Triyono prevented reporters from interviewing other employees or the patients.

No official explanation was available, but Triyono said on Wednesday that emission gases had found their way into the store, adding that several of the cashiers were also intoxicated and had fainted.

But Jupri, a security officer at the compound told The Jakarta Post that one of the cars queuing had hit a smoke extraction? pipe, which later leaked gas produced by cars from the parking lot into the store.

"I was here yesterday. The basement was heavily congested. We also nearly passed out due to the gas," he remarked.

An expert on occupational health at Pertamina Hospital, Mayarni, suspected that the employees had been affected by a work-related disease caused by an unhealthy working environment.

"If the level of emissions was higher than usual, how come no store customers suffered similar respiratory problems?" she asked the Post on Thursday.

She added that an investigation into the incident by police and experts on health and safety at work was essential in order to avoid the recurrence of such incidents.

"Every workplace has potential hazards. According to Law No. 1/1970 on a healthy and safe environment, site examinations and regular checks at workplaces and public places should be taken," she said.

In Indonesia, Presidential Decree No. 22/1993 cites 31 types of occupational disease that can lead to death or disability. Monitoring of these regulations is the responsibility of the occupational health and safety directorate at the Ministry of Manpower and Transmigration.