Emission levels tightened at four notorious industries
Emission levels tightened at four notorious industries
JAKARTA (JP): The government is tightening the emission levels for all industries in the country, with a specific emphasis on the worst polluters in the industries of cement, pulp and paper, coal-generated power and steel and iron works.
In a new decree announced by State Minister of Environment Sarwono Kusumaatmadja yesterday, the government set more specific emission levels for the four industries.
The decree, signed last month, replaces the previous regulations introduced in 1988.
The government jumped ahead of the industrial plants by setting a target date for the maximum levels of emissions in the year 2000.
The decree also sets the quality standards of emission for mobile and immobile sources.
The new decree controls the levels of such emissions from ammonia, chlorine gas, chloride hydrogen, particles and sulfur dioxide to antimony, zinc and black lead.
The government also set more specific categories of emission levels for the four industries.
Nabiel Makarim, the deputy for pollution control at the Environmental Impact Management Agency (Bapedal), said the government is looking at the possibility of specific emission standards for other industries.
Nabiel explained that the levels were based on "best practical control technology" rather than the "carrying capacity of the environment", which is more ideal but difficult to ascertain.
The chosen approach takes into consideration the existing technology applied in the industries, he said.
The carrying capacity of an area is the maximum number of individuals of a species that can be supported by that area.
"It is very difficult to establish laws which strictly abide by the environment's carrying capacity because factors such as wind and weather must be accounted for. Thus, we could end up, for instance, with 12 different standards for each month of the year," Nabiel said, adding that the carrying capacity of a location was still the best way to establish such a regulation.
"We anticipate that by the year 2000 industries will have more advanced technologies in waste treatment and management," Nabiel said, referring to the tighter emission levels already set by the government for that year.
He said quality standard figures were based on joint studies between Bapedal and industry representatives, including the four industries that are subject to the new rule.
Nabiel said between 50 to 70 percent of the cement, pulp and paper, coal-generated power plants and steel and iron-work industries were equipped to go by the new standards.
Individual quality standards could be applied, he added, in such cases where an environment could easily be polluted even with the industry operating below the quality standard level. (pwn)