Chlorine chemicals

While journalists do indeed consider environmental catastrophes more newsworthy (The Jakarta Post, Aug. 26, 1996, page 2), the public is keenly interested in other news of environmental problems and efforts to prevent these problems. Public environmental consciousness is now more sophisticated than panic over nuclear disasters and oil spills.

Indonesian journalists have two main problems when analyzing current issues on the environment: lack of technical knowledge and a fear of criticizing government policies.

The former is evidenced in the lack of reporting of a major toxicity issue in Indonesia. This is chlorine chemicals (or organochlorines), which are highly toxic, slow to break down and very widely used. Over 11,000 different organochlorines are manufactured today, used in products ranging from pesticides and plastics to toothpaste and possibly even this newspaper.

Yes, the burgeoning Indonesian paper industry (currently comprising 15 pulp mills) uses elementary chlorine technologies in the paper-bleaching process; and despite the fact that more then three years ago Environment Minister Sarwono publicly announced that all new pulp and paper mills in Indonesia must use Elementary Chlorine Free bleaching technologies -- or better technologies -- to date, no legal instruments to regulate this have been created. Meanwhile, 20 new pulp mills are on line to be built, expanding Indonesia's pulp production capacity to 6,125,000 tons per year.

Where will the mill waste go? Studies in Europe show that when industry releases organochlorines into the human and natural environments, they cause rising infertility, birth defects and miscarriages, impaired mental function in children, cancer and decrease resistance to disease by lowering the function of the immune system. Chlorine chemicals have also been proven to cause population decline of various wildlife.

The health impacts of organochlorine pollution are long-term -- they do not (usually) result in riots, piles of dead sea birds on beaches or other sudden events attractive to a news journalist. Nevertheless, they are of enough concern that various countries have made regional bans on these chemicals and Greenpeace International has called for a global ban.

What will Indonesia do about organochlorines? And when?

VANESSA JOHANSON

Jakarta