45 staffers treated, Carrefour operates

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.