Agency investigates fish poisoning at Ancol
Leony Aurora and Damar Harsanto, Jakarta
More fish have been found dead in Muara Kamal, another part of the capital's northern coast, indicating a spread of deadly toxic waste that started last Thursday and first noticed by people at Karnaval beach in Ancol Dreamland Park, North Jakarta.
Preliminary analysis of sea water samples taken from several areas along the coast have found high percentages of mercury, phenol -- a substance used as a disinfectant -- and ammonia.
Head of the Jakarta Environmental Management Agency (BPLHD) Kosasih Wirahadikusumah said at City Hall on Tuesday that his subordinates had been investigating the source of the toxic waste.
The agency sent out a warning through the media to Jakartans on Monday against consuming fish or clams caught in Jakarta Bay out of fear of food poisoning. Thousands of fish and clams had been found dead over the weekend with inordinately high levels of tocixity from the heavily polluted sea water.
"So far, none of the public health centers in the area have submitted reports of food poisoning," said Kosasih.
On the analysis conducted by the agency, he said no traces of mercury or any other heavy metal were found on Karnaval beach itself. However, as much as 0.056 milligram per liter (mg/l) of mercury was discovered in the water off Bende beach in Ancol.
Sea organisms are known to only be able to survive in water with mercury no higher than 0.001 mg/l.
"Phenol content off Karnaval beach was measured at 0.010 mg/l. The standard is zero," said Kosasih.
Without mentioning any names, he adroitly deduced that there was a possibly that a large amount of phenol had been dumped into the water.
High contents of ammonia were also found in many other areas along the coast where samples were taken. Off Karnaval beach, the ammonia content was 0.60 mg/l, and in two other nearby areas it was 1.06 mg/l and 0.48 mg/l, respectively.
The allowable content of ammonia is zero for maritime tourism and 0.03 mg/l for sea organisms.
Kosasih claimed that there were two possible causes for the excessive amount of ammonia: waste from industrial plants or an extreme proliferation of toxic algae, which he called the "red- tide phenomenon".
"This phenomenon usually happens between seasons, when sea water heats up," he explained.
The Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi), however, directly pointed the finger at the industrial plants located along Jakarta's coast as the responsible parties for the pollution.
"The smell of ammonia is very strong in the residential areas near the industrial plants," said Selamet Daroyni, Walhi's Jakarta branch executive director.
Walhi has mentioned at least seven factories, some which produced paint or glass among other things and at least one in the cold storage business. However, the non-governmental organization has yet to conduct laboratory tests to confirm the allegations.
BPLHD is still conducting studies on the fish found dead in the area to determine their specific chemical content. Complete results are expected within two weeks.