Coal dusted rice for the poor

Yuliansyah, The Jakarta Post, Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan

The Banjarmasin Environmental Impact Agency said on Tuesday that it would evaluate some of the hundreds of tons of rice for the poor that were found to be contaminated with coal dust in order to assess any health hazards to consumers.

Agency chairman Hesley Junianto said that the rice would undergo a thorough examination by the South Kalimantan Food and Drug Control Agency (BPOM).

"The coal dust attached to the rice is thick. We should examine the hazards brought on by the contamination since it is consumed by poor people in the province," he said.

Previously, the Provincial Logistics Depot (Dolog) Warehouse submitted a letter to the Provincial Logistics Affairs Agency (Bulog) giving notice that rice in the warehouses in the Telaga Biru area of Trisakti port had been contaminated with coal dust allegedly from the coal stockpiles of PT Pelindo III and PT Jayasakti Barutama.

Bulog warehouse chairman Soejono admitted that some 900 tons of rice in Dolog warehouses had been contaminated with the coal dust.

He said the rice was usually provided to some 25,797 poor families in Banjarmasin city, 13,595 poor families in the Barito Kuala regency, provincial military personnel and inmates in the provincial jail.

Data provided by the Dolog office shows that the rice has been supplied monthly to 142,444 families in the province for the past two years.

Antasari Military Resort chief Col. Sudarmaidy urged provincial administrations to take immediate steps to solve the problem.

"I am concerned with this because the rice is endangering the health of poor people and military personnel, and while we cannot change something that has already happened I hope there are some measures that can be taken immediately," he said.

Pelindo III General Affairs chairman Bambang Subekti, however, denied that his company had contaminated the rice warehouses.

"The port is the entry point for coal distribution so you cannot judge that it is our coal stockpiles that have contaminated rice supplies," he said.

Bambang said that his team had prevented contamination from coal dust by spraying water on the coal stockpiles and surrounding areas.

Possible health hazards from the contaminated rice will be announced after BPOM completes its tests.

Meanwhile, residents of the Sebuku Islands, Kotabaru regency, are demanding that a coal-mining regency give them financial compensation for the death of some 350 cows that they claim died after eating grass contaminated by the coal waste.