Air pollution in Bandung alarming
Air pollution in Bandung alarming
BANDUNG (JP): Air pollution resulting from gas emissions has
become an obvious problem here, with the local Environmental
Impact Management Agency office estimating the number of vehicles
exceeding the tolerable exhaust emission limit at 36 percent.
The office's head of the monitoring and control unit, Yusuf
Supriatna, said on Monday that the depressing findings came after
719 out of 2,000 randomly checked public and private cars and
motorcycles failed the latest emission tests last week.
Only 6.5 percent of the vehicles checked failed the tests last
year, according to Yusuf.
"The increase in the number of polluting vehicles has
certainly drawn great concern," he said.
There are around 500,000 vehicles registered in the city, once
dubbed the Paris of Java, with an annual growth rate of 2
percent.
The four-day tests were designed to detect levels of carbon
monoxide (CO) and hydrocarbon (HC) emitted from gasoline run
vehicles as well as the density of exhaust fumes from cars using
diesel fuel.
Vehicles are considered safe if their gas emissions contain no
more than 4.5 percent of CO and 1200 ppm of HC and if their smoke
density does not exceed 50 percent.
An expert staff member of the office, Roslina, said that more
than half of the diesel engine cars produced by a well-known
brand tested last week violated the exhaust density level.
To curb the degree of air pollution, Roslina said the office
will emulate Jakarta in distributing emission testers to auto
repair shops across the city, beginning next year.
Jakarta is the third most polluted city in the world after
Mexico City and Bangkok.
Roslina said the office would suggest the city administration
take stringent measures against motorists whose vehicles were
found to violate the tolerable level of polluting emissions.
"Air pollution will be very dangerous to people here because
they live in a city surrounded by mountains. Such an area allows
polluted air to accumulate rather than disappear," she warned.
(25)