Haze at a dangerous level: Sujudi

JAKARTA (JP): The air quality in Indonesia's haze-stricken areas has worsened and become a health hazard, Minister of Health Sujudi said yesterday.

"I think the haze has now reached a dangerous level... in terms of breathing difficulty. This situation is endangering people's health," he told reporters after meeting with President Soeharto. He did not refer to any specific affected areas.

Many towns and hinterland villages in Sumatra and Kalimantan, where fires have ravaged some 300,000 hectares of land and forest, have been affected by the haze over the past three months.

The government announced recently that more than 32,000 people had been suffering from severe respiratory problems due to the haze.

Sujudi said air in affected areas was contaminated with a dangerous amount of particles, sometimes reaching 1,000 particles per cubic meter, on a scale where 260 was considered tolerable.

"In some areas it has even reached 2,000," he said.

Sujudi said the government had already distributed 400,000 protective masks to affected areas and was suggesting the use of air purifiers in homes, especially for children.

The choking haze in Sumatra and Kalimantan has also caused problems in neighboring Malaysia and Singapore. It has disrupted flights, shipping and land transportation because of the resulting poor visibility.

President Soeharto had apologized to neighboring countries affected by the haze, which the government had declared a national disaster. A number of countries, including Malaysia, Thailand, the U.S., Japan and Australia, have either offered or extended assistance to fight the forest fires that caused the haze.

Effective

Separately, State Minister of Environment Sarwono Kusumaatmadja declared yesterday that the government's concerted effort to combat forest fires had been greatly effective and integrated.

"(Personnel) at all levels of the administration, the Armed Forces along with community members, have all joined forces to fight this national disaster," he said at his office.

Accompanying Sarwono were deputy to operations assistant to the Armed Forces chief of general affairs Rear Admiral Frits A.C. Mantiri, deputy secretary of National Disaster Management Coordinating Board Hernowo Wiyonggo, and other government officials.

"There have been good signs, (signs) of improvement in the weather," Sarwono said.

He quoted National Meteorology and Geophysics Agency data which said that trade winds above Indonesia had changed from a northerly to a westerly direction in the last two days.

The head of the agency, Sri Diharto, said yesterday that the change in the wind direction would hopefully blow away the thick haze covering most parts of Kalimantan, while the haze clouding Sumatra would be blown over the Indian Ocean.

However, the wind direction change could already be visible in Jakarta's sky, which in the last few days looked gray, Diharto said.

"It's the smoke caused by forest fires in the eastern part of Java," he said.

Meanwhile, the Indonesia Forum for Environment (Walhi) said in a statement yesterday that as many as 1,800 villagers of Beginci Darat and Beginci Laut in West Kalimantan's Ketapang regency were currently under the threat of famine.

"They have been eating cassava in the past week," the statement said.

Recent reports about drought-related deaths, and difficulties in relief operations due to the haze, have come from some regencies in Irian Jaya. About 295 villagers in the province's hinterland have reportedly died of various illnesses.

Antara reported yesterday that the reports had prompted a greater effort to send relief to the stricken areas. Government agencies and non-governmental organizations have sent food and medicine supplies to areas in Jayawijaya and Wamena regencies, for instance.

The relief included instant noodles, mineral water, powdered milk, biscuits and clothing. (aan/prb)