Companies treat waste properly to protect environment
Companies treat waste properly to protect environment
Waste is in separable from industrial activities, including
those conducted by natural resource-based companies, such as oil
and gas producers and mine operators in remote areas in
Indonesia.
Imagine what will happen to the environment and nearby
communities if the uncontrollable volume of waste is not properly
managed. Waste resulting from oil and gas production activities,
such as produced water, will be detrimental to human and marine
life. The worst risk is that polluted rivers or sea will pose a
serious threat to the livelihood of nearby communities and thus,
sustainable development, one of the substantial concerns
continually promoted by the United Nations, will be in a great
danger.
Aware of the importance of the sustainable development, major
natural resource-based firms have shown a strong commitment to
manage their waste properly as part of their efforts to preserve
environment for the next generation.
Even though companies are engaged in similar production
activities, such as oil and gas or mining, every company has its
own approach to waste problem or technology used to treat it to
ensure that their operation activities do as little damage as
possible to the surroundings.
To comply with the government regulation on waste treatment,
the hazardous waste, such as used grease, used batteries, battery
water and chemicals that cannot be treated at the respective
company are sent and treated at authorized toxic (B3) waste
landfill facility at PT Pamunah Limbah Industri (PPLI) in
Cileungsi, West Java to reduce the potential of any of these
wastes to potentially impact the environment. .
For oil and gas producers, the waste is sourced from drilling,
process, maintenance, accommodation, office, laboratory,
construction and vessels and classified into non-hazardous waste,
such as food waste, papers and plastics and hazardous waste,
including oil sludge, batteries and expired chemicals to
facilitate the treatment of waste.
The France-based Total E&P Indonesie, which operates the
Mahakam block in East Kalimanatan province since 1970s, has
strict environmental policy, especially in regards to waste. Its
produced water resulting from oil and gas production activities
is treated at the company's Oily Water Treatment Units (OWTU)
through which the oily water is processed and turned into good
quality water in compliant with local and central government
requirement.
Through its OWTU, the produced water has reduced oil content
at only 25 mg/l, far below the maximum allowable oil content
required by the government. "With oil content of 25 mg/l, the
water is safe for environment," said company's Environmental
Department head Suripno.
Total's operation sites cover an area of 2,000 hectares, with
sevel oil and gas fields and 500 production wells in remote areas
in East Kalimantan, including Handil, Bekapai, Peciko, Tambora
and Tunu.
Total has introduced Industrial Pilot of Oily Waste Composting
(IPOC), a treatment unit to process contaminated soils and
cuttings biologically by applying windrow and biopile method. The
efficient and economical method can also be used to treat
contaminated soils resulting from accident like oil spill on
land.
To reduce the volume of waste in the form of plastic drums
containing chemicals, Total return the used drums to the vendors
because the purchase of the required chemicals does not include
the containers, according Suripno.
As in other companies, hazardous waste at Total is stored at
the company's temporary storage before they are sent to PT PPLI
for treatment or disposal.
Meanwhile, Caltex Pacific Indonesia (CPI) boasts using
applicable, economical and environmentally friendly technology to
handle its industrial waste, especially oily waste, through
Slurry Fracture Injection (SLI) because the technology has proven
effective in handling the oily waste problem.
Caltex, a subsidiary of US-based Chevron Texaco, operates a
number of oil blocks in Riau Province, with 107 active oil fields
and 6,569 production wells. The company's operation site covers
an area of 25,500 square kilometers.
With the SLI technology, the oily waste is injected back into
soil layer underground far below the production zone.
The oily water dumped underground is safe for environment
because the characteristic of underground water is similar with
that of the waste. "However, Caltex continuously conduct strict
monitoring of the behavior of the waste in the formation by, for
instance, using a tilt meter, to prevent unexpected impact and to
ensure that the waste won't be detrimental to environment," said
Caltex's Manager of Corporate Communication Harry Bustaman.
The company also uses a well to monitor the real condition of
soil water underground in a nearby waste disposal area.
Like Caltex, Newmont Nusa Tenggara (NTT), which operates a
massive gold and copper mine in Batu Hijau, Sumbawa, West Nusa
Tenggara, also has a long-term environmental monitoring program
to evaluate potential impacts of the company's operations.
Newmont used Sub-Sea Tailings Placement (STP) system to dump
its mineral waste. Based on environmental impact assessment
(AMDAL) analysis for its Batu Hijau site, the disposal of
tailings in the sea, at a depth of around 3,000 meters in the
bottom of Senunu canyon does not damage marine ecosystem, sea
habitats or marine animals.
The system has been used and has proven effective because
based on a study, there is little oxygen and biological activity
deep under the water and that minimizes impact on the
environment. "If the tailings are dumped on the land, then it
would impact over 1,900 hectares of productive jungle and
agricultural land," said NTT's Manager of Environmental Affairs
Grantley Batterham.
To ensure that the tailings it produces are not detrimental to
environment, marine life in particular, the company by means of
on-shore and offshore pipelines releases the tailings at a depth
of 112 meters at the head of Senunu submarine canyon. "This is
well below the biologically productive surface waters," he said.
Based on the toxicity study by third party, the tailings are
non-toxic and therefore, they are not detrimental to marine
species, including commercial fish, he said.
The system is monitored extensively to ensure the system is
functioning as designed to minimize any potential for
environmental impacts outside of what was anticipated in the
environmental impact analysis.
Unlike Newmont, gold and copper producer PT Freeport
Indonesia, which operates a massive gold and copper mining site
in Timika, Papua, uses river system for tailings transport to the
designated area in the lowlands and coastal zone, called the
Modified Ajkwa Deposition Area, which is an engineered, managed
system for the deposition and control of tailings.
Independent environmental audits of Freeport Indonesia
concluded that the company's tailings management plan represents
the best alternative, given the applicable geotechnical,
topographic, climatological, seismic and water quality
conditions, according to the company's Senior Manager for
Corporate Communication Siddharta Moersjid.
Water in the Ajkwa River, which transports the tailings from
Freeport Indonesia's mill in the highlands to the lowlands
deposition area, meets the Indonesian and U.S. Environmental
Protection agency (EPA) drinking water standards for dissolved
metals, he said. "However, we continually evaluate and update the
tailings management plan to minimize potential risk," he added.
Studies of tailings reclamation and establishment of
demonstration plot on tailings areas show that tailings can be
readily revegetated with native forestry - in fact, natural re-
colonization takes place rapidly - and agricultural plants.
He said that Freeport has a comprehensive waste management
system using the principles of re-use, recycling and reducing.
The company has established waste minimization programs
involving reduction and substitution of items with
environmentally friendly products. "Bulk containers, waste oil,
used papers and tires are all re-used locally in an
environmentally and acceptable manner," Siddharta said.
Other recyclable materials such as aluminum, scrap metals, and
used batteries are collected and stored in a temporary storage
area for subsequent disposal in accordance with the requirements
of the Indonesian government.
Under the government-approved overburden management plant,
Freeport Indonesia places waste rock or overburden in a managed
area in the Grasberg open pit.
Freeport Indonesia's acid rock drainage mitigation plan
provide for capture and treatment of the existing acid rock
drainage, in conjunction with limestone blending and limestone
capping of existing overburden placement areas. "These actions
are expected to significantly reduce future acid rock drainage
generation. Throughout 2003, acid rock drainage from the mine was
captured and transported via a system of pipes to the mill for
lime neutralization," Siddharta said.
Coal producer PT Arutmin Indonesia, which operates in three
concessionaire areas, in Satui, Batulicin and Senakin in South
Kalimantan, produces waste in the form of acid water flown from
piles of soil resulting from digging activities.
Arutmin said that to mitigate the potential environmental
impact from the mining activities on the surrounding area, the
company utilized drainage system in which the acid water is
neutralized with lime in settling ponds. "We spend about eight
tons of lime per ton neutralize the water or minimize the level
of acidity," said the company's spokesman Zainuddin Lubis,
adding, "Unless the acid water is well treated the water with
high level of acidity is detrimental to environment."
Another coal producer Kaltim Prima Coal (KPC), which operates
also in East Kalimantan, starts reusing waste as alternative
resources. For example, the company has taken advantage of used
tires utilized to support the mining activities for different
purposes, including to sustain erosion in rehabilitated area.