Fire at petrochemicals plant blamed for serious pollution
Fire at petrochemicals plant blamed for serious pollution
ID Nugroho and Indra Harsaputra, The Jakarta Post, Surabaya
Tuesday's devastating fire at a petrochemical plant in Gresik,
East Java, in which two people were killed and more than 50
others injured, also appears to have caused serious environmental
damage to neighboring areas.
The Jakarta Post observed the Roomo river in Manyar
subdistrict which had previously been quite clean had pitch-black
water after the fire, which engulfed PT Petrowidada a
manufacturer of plastic raw materials -- phthalic anhydride and
maleic anhydride.
White foam was seen on the surface of the river, which at
times almost looked like it was boiling.
Trees on the riverbanks were also burned by the fire and
others may die, after being exposed to chemical pollution.
Residents from Roomo village complained that the water in
their wells -- which they relied on for cooking and bathing --
had been contaminated.
"I don't know why, but the water is red," said Subazir, a
villager who lives five-meters-away from the river.
His neighbor, M. Yasir, said his family was temporarily
staying in the house of his relative in another village.
"We will take refuge there because the air here has been
polluted," he told The Jakarta Post.
Gresik health officials visited the location of the fire on
Friday to investigate, but they refused to comment on the
pollution of the area surrounding PT Petrowidada.
Separately, an inspector from the local nuclear supervisory
board, Mulyono Samsunar, said he feared that the fire had
resulted from an explosion of equipment at the factory.
If that was the case, the pollution could cause serious skin
problems for local people, he added.
The equipment contained Calcium 137 which is particularly
hazardous for the health of those who come into contact with it,
Mulyono argued while visiting the company's premises.
Meanwhile, dozens of students and local people staged a
demonstration against the company over the fire.
They accused the government and the company's management of
only taking profit into account and ignoring the safety of local
people.
"The fire has caused pollution like this, but the company does
not want to be responsible," a protester shouted.
In another development, a number of plastic companies in East
Java said the fire had not yet affected the supply of raw
materials to their factories.
"So far there are no reports that plastic companies have
complained about a lack of supplies after the fire razed PT
Petrowidada," said Erlangga Satriagung, chairman of the
Indonesian Chamber of Commerce (Kadin) for East Java.
He said the companies that had previously received supplies
from the firm had begun to make orders from suppliers in
Tangerang, Banten province, and Bekasi in West Java province.
"Some of them will import raw materials from other countries,"
he added.
However, PT Petrowidada director Yudianto said that despite
the fire, his company would still be able to continue producing
Phthalic Anhydride (PA) III, despite its capacity of only 70,000
tons per year.
Before the fire, it had produced a total of 150,000 tons per
year, he added.
Yudianto said PT Petrowidada had supplied raw materials to at
least 20 companies in East Java.