'Hairy pollution crisis in Lampung'

'Hairy pollution crisis in Lampung'

JAKARTA (JP): Air pollution in the Lampung capital of Bandar
Lampung is so heavy that residents' hair is contaminated with
industrial waste, notably cadmium, an academic said yesterday.

In her speech commemorating Lampung University's 31st
anniversary, Ida Farida Rivai said that her recent study on
pollution in the city proved that there was a direct relationship
between intensive industrialization and population concentration
causing increased levels of environmental contamination in
cities.

Ida, a chemistry expert, said that toxic industrial waste
included gas emissions from motorized vehicles and smoke and
gases from factories.

Perpetual accumulation of heavy metal compounds such as
cadmium, lead and mercury is hazardous to humans, Ida, who
graduated from the Gunma University of Japan, said.

Prolonged exposure to mercury destroys the nervous system,
cadmium diminishes the kidney's function and lead can cause lung
cancer, she said.

Ida, the founder of the science department at the university,
said that chemical contamination and poisoning from industrial
waste cannot be minimized by rejecting industrialization.

"Perhaps preventative measures and control can be socialized
and managed in a wiser manner," she said.

Ida also encouraged chemists and biologists to undertake more
research on toxic waste by-products which are inadvertently
consumed by the public.

"A thorough understanding of environmental toxicology is one
way of improving the quality human resources. It is futile to
tell people of the danger without providing a solution or telling
them how to prevent the danger," Ida said. (14)