Agency proposes LPG to replace gasoline in cars

JAKARTA (JP): Local environmental officials here on Tuesday warned that the introduction of unleaded fuel in the capital should be only the first of many steps needed to reduce the dangerous level of pollution in the city.

Aboejoewono Aboeprajitno, head of Jakarta's Environmental Impact Management Agency (Bapedalda) praised the advent of unleaded fuel, but pointed out that lead poisoning through vehicle emissions only accounted for a small portion of the problems caused by air pollution in the city.

Commending Sunday's official launch of unleaded gasoline as "one step forward in the war to reduce air pollution", Aboejoewono however stressed that more needed to be done if long- term and significant effects were to be felt by residents of the capital.

He pointed out that other dangerous substances such as carbon- monoxide and hydro-carbons emitted as vehicle exhaust fumes were as harmful, if not more so.

One of the main problems in reducing the level of pollution in the city is the sheer number of vehicles on Jakarta streets and the fact that many, perhaps even most, of these vehicles do not have an adequate exhaust system to reduce the emission of dangerous gases.

Aboejoewono noted that there were as many as four million four- and two-wheeled vehicles in the Greater Jakarta area fouling up the air daily.

He claimed that emissions from vehicles contributed to no less than 67 percent of the overall pollution. This was much higher than the many industrial plants located in the outskirts of the city.

"It's no surprise that Jakarta is the world's third most polluted city," he said during a seminar on pollution here.

Aboejoewono said that during the launching of unleaded fuel on Sunday, the agency had proposed to the Minister of Mines and Energy Purnomo Yusgiantoro that the government should go one step further by promoting the use of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) to replace gasoline in cars.

He added that the Agency was also proposing that two Gubernatorial Decrees -- No. 95/2000 on vehicle emissions inspection and maintenance, and Decree No. 1041/2000 on limits for vehicle emissions -- be upgraded to bylaws.

Both decrees state that violators may be punished by up to two months in jail and or a Rp 2 million fine.

However, inspections for emissions and the enforcement on emission limits remain rare.

The Jakarta administration itself has set 2002 as the target date for vehicles in the capital to comply with emission limits.

Meanwhile, state-owned company Sucofindo has been licensed to endorse garages which can perform the tests and certify that a vehicle's gas emissions are below the limit.

Without giving any explanation, Zafar D. Idham, the operational director of Sucofindo, said it would cost between Rp 3 million and Rp 10 million for each garage to get a certificate authorizing it to conduct such tests.

As part of the campaign to promote lower vehicle gas emissions, Sucofindo on Monday will perform free tests for compliance with emission targets on Monday outside its offices on Jl. Pasar Minggu, South Jakarta, between 9 a.m and 4 p.m.

Cars parked at the Ministry of Health offices in Kuningan and City Hall on Monday will also be tested free of charge.

The campaign on Monday is part of the company's efforts to publicize the need for vehicle owners to be more aware of the issue.

Similar free tests will be conducted periodically until the end of the year.(04)