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.