All cars entering Bandung to have emissions test

BANDUNG (JP): In a bid to curb air pollution, the Bandung administration plans to have all cars entering the city undergo an emissions test starting Oct. 1.

The head of the Bandung Environmental Impact Management Agency, Sumarti B. Hanafi, said here on Tuesday that the policy was taken as air pollution in Bandung had gone beyond tolerable levels.

She said the tests would be conducted at all entrances to the city. "Cars failing the test will be issued with a sticker which reads This vehicle failed to meet operation worthiness."

"So far we will only 'punish' them with stickers, as appropriate laws have yet to be made," she said.

She said Bandung officials had already approached related institutions, including the Land Transportation Agency (DLLAJ) and the police, about the implementation of the plan.

She did not mention to what extent the tests would disrupt traffic in the area.

According to the plan, five stations monitoring air pollution and five display boards would also be utilized periodically to gage air quality.

Bandung, located at a higher altitude, was always considered one of the country's most beautiful spots with its cool, fresh atmosphere and because of this it came to be known as Paris van Java (The Paris of Java).

But now everything has changed.

Sumarti said that recent monitoring at 10 different areas in the capital of West Java indicated that the content of dust, NOx (nitrogen oxides) and Hydrocarbons (HC) in Bandung's air had far exceeded tolerable levels.

"The HC content in the air around North Bandung was 500 percent above the tolerable limit," she said.

The level of HC in a single cubic meter of air taken as a sample from one of the business areas in Bandung was 1,395 parts per million (ppm), while the tolerable limit is 0.24 ppm, she said quoting the test results.

"South Bandung, which lacks vegetation, could be the worst, with an HC content at 900 percent higher than the tolerable limit."

The air in East Bandung has an NOx content of 0.076 ppm, while the tolerable limit is only 0.05 ppm, according to the study.

A researcher from the Highway Research and Development Agency, Gugun Gunawan said that NOx can cause nerve damage.

Dust was also a potential pollutant, Sumarti said. "The air in the Leuwipanjang bus terminal has high content of dust. Each cubic meter of air contains 172 grams of dust, while the allowable level is 150 grams." (25/sur)