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)