Govt to conduct new Buyat study
Govt to conduct new Buyat study
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The government decided on Wednesday to send a joint team to
conduct a comprehensive study on Buyat Bay, South Minahasa, North
Sulawesi, and its surrounding areas to verify reports of serious
pollution there.
Interim coordinating minister for people's welfare Abdul Malik
Fadjar said the results of the study would be used to determine
the validity of the reports and subsequently identify and
prosecute those responsible.
"The team will start work next week and will be required to
finish its work by the end of the month," Malik told reporters
after a coordinating meeting.
Law No. 23/1997 on the environment says a polluter may face
criminal charges and, if found guilty, may be ordered to
rehabilitate the polluted area.
The team will consist of representatives of the Office of the
Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs, the
Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Health, Office of the State
Minister for the Environment, the Ministry of Fisheries and
Maritime Affairs, the Office of the State Minister for Research
and Technology, the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, the
National Police and non-governmental organizations.
The decision comes as the police are completing their
laboratory tests on samples they took from 10 locations in the
bay and from some residents. The preliminary results showed
mercury and arsenic levels that exceed environmental health
standards.
The police had promised to complete their investigation this
week and summon executives from the PT Newmont Minahasa Raya
mining, a mining company operating near the bay, to cross check
their findings with data on the firm's waste management system.
Malik said the team would follow up on the previous studies
that had been carried out, identify the ailments suffered by
people in Buyat, and reveal the source of the contamination.
"We will ensure the results of our study can be justified
scientifically, academically, socially and legally," said the
minister.
Some Buyat residents recently filed a report with the National
Police over alleged pollution, which they, backed by a number of
NGOs, blame on PT Newmont Minahasa Raya. The people displayed
lumps, rashes and other symptoms of skin diseases, and complained
of sore throats and impaired eyesight.
Malik said the health ministry would provide medication and
health services for the people while the study was underway.
Energy minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro said the mining license
awarded to PT Newmont had expired in 2001, while its ore
processing license will expire on Aug. 31.
However, he said, the company would still be responsible for
rehabilitating the local environment.
Police investigators announced last week that Buyat and Totok
bays, which are separated by Cape Ratatotok, were contaminated
with heavy metals.
National Police Director of Special Crimes Brig. Gen. Suharto
said on Monday the larger Totok Bay was allegedly polluted by
illegal miners using mercury to separate gold from other
minerals.
However, no illegal miners operate around Buyat Bay, and the
only mining company operating there is PT Newmont Minahasa Raya.
"We have yet to conclude which party has polluted Buyat Bay
because several sources of pollution are possible. One
possibility is that the undercurrent swept away contaminated
seawater from Totok Bay to Buyat bay," said Suharto.
He said officers would question experts about whether it was
possible for contaminated water from Totok Bay to find its way
into Buyat Bay.
Suharto said police had questioned 21 people as witnesses in
the case, including 15 residents of Buyat and Ratatotok, four
local employees of PT Newmont and an expert staff member of the
Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources.