ExxonMobil accused of polluting environment with hazardous waste

Moch. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Residents of Lhoksukon and Pasai districts in North Aceh have accused ExxonMobil Indonesia Inc., the Indonesian unit of the U.S.-based Exxon Mobil Corp., of polluting the environment with hazardous waste for the past two years.

Mawardy Nurdin, head of the Aceh Environment Impact Assessment Agency (Bapedalda), said here on Tuesday his office had received reports of ExxonMobil Indonesia polluting the environment but had not been able to verify the allegations due to unfavorable security conditions there.

"The people there have been complaining about itchy skin, trees dying, hazardous waste polluting their rivers. We will check those reports as soon as the security condition there allows," Mawardy said in an environment workshop in Jakarta Tuesday.

Armed conflict between the Indonesian military (TNI) and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM), which has been fighting for an independent Aceh since 1976, has limited people's movement in the country's westernmost province, which is rich in natural resources. More than 10,000 people have been killed in the insurgence, mostly innocent civilians.

Mawardy said his agency had not yet received ExxonMobil Indonesia's waste report from the hazardous waste center PT Prasadha Pamunah Limbah Industri (PPLI) in Cileungsi, Bogor, West Java for six months.

Toxic waste emitted by companies in the country must be sent to PPLI for further treatment before it is released to nature.

"We will go to PPLI on Wednesday to see the toxic waste report. Afterward we will check the waste location in Lhoksukon," he said.

Mawardy said similar reports had surfaced in the past but ExxonMobil denied the allegations, saying the company had contracted its hazardous waste management to a third party, namely PT Lamarindo, who frequently delivered the waste to PPLI.

ExxonMobil spokeswoman Deva Rahman said it was company policy to manage and minimize all waste products.

She said the company was not aware of problems with waste management in Aceh but it would investigate the concern expressed by the Aceh environment Agency.

Aside from ExxonMobil, Mawardy said local people had also complained about environmental pollution by liquefied natural gas producer PT Arun NGL in Lhokseumawe, East Aceh.