ExxonMobil accused of polluting environment with hazardous waste
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.