Fire at waste processing firm

Fire at waste processing firm

Theresia Sufa, The Jakarta Post, Bogor

Fire engulfed on Wednesday a warehouse used to store drums of
toxic materials in Bogor.

No injuries were reported in the blaze.

The warehouse is part of the Klapa Nunggal facility, owned by
Prasadha Pamunah Limbah Industri (PPLi), the country's largest
hazardous waste processing firm.

Otte Sulistyo, a public relations officer for PPLi, said the
warehouse was used to store low-level toxic industrial waste.

He said the incident, the first of its kind since the company
began operations in 1994, had been reported to the Office of the
State Minister for the Environment, which owns a 5 percent stake
in PPLi, according to standard procedures.

Otte said the company's operations would not be disrupted by
the fire. He added that a full investigation and a damage
assessment were underway.

According to Klapa Nunggal Police chief Adj. Comr. Musimin,
the fire began at about 9:30 a.m.

All of the company's 233 employees were safely evacuated from
the premises. The fire, which burned for over six hours, was
contained with a special foam used to fight chemical fires.

"Because of the nature of the waste, if we used water a
chemical reaction could have occurred, further fueling the
blaze," said Musimin.

PPLi runs the largest waste disposal and hazardous material
facility in Indonesia, last year processing about 60,000 tons of
industrial waste from 800 companies across Indonesia, including
mining giant Newmont Minahasa in North Sulawesi.

PPLi, whose facilities meet international environmental
standards, is controlled by Modern Asia Environmental Holdings,
which also owns hazardous material processing facilities in
Thailand.