Chemical maker denies its product hazardous

JAKARTA (JP): A director of a local firm, PT Zeneca, denied yesterday that its products were hazardous to users and the environment.

The company's director, Michael Pragnell, told journalists that para-col and gramozone, types of weed killer, were produced to help support the government's program on food self- sufficiency.

Pragnell denied news reports that PT Zeneca's products were dangerous to consumers, saying that the factory had informed and even trained farmers on how to use the weed killers properly.

He said his company has worked closely with government officials regarding the company's products and broader of use of weed killers for boosting the country's agricultural output.

PT Zeneca, which operates in the West Java village of Gunung Putri, Bogor, yesterday donated a number of school facilities to a government-run elementary school as a mark of its participation in encouraging public awareness of the environment.

Industries producing weed killers in Indonesia are subject to conducting continual research on the products to ensure that the chemical output is environmentally friendly. (03)