House expresses concern over widespread, unchecked pollution

JAKARTA (JP): The House of Representatives (DPR) expressed concern yesterday over pollution levels in Java and Sumatra, and urged the government to tighten control over waste dumping.

Commission X in charge of ecological affairs warned that unchecked disposal of toxic waste has not only contaminated the environment, but also poses a health risk to human beings.

"Highly toxic waste was found in some residential areas in East Kalimantan, Central Java and West Java," Commission spokesman Jusman Tahar said when reporting on the findings of recent visits to the provinces.

In Riau poisonous waste comes from ships which dispose of oil and trash into the sea, contaminating the shores of the fast developing Batam, Bintan and Mapur islands, he said.

The commission urged the local government to intensify marine patrols in Mapur, which has apparently been turned into a dump for industrial waste from Singapore, he added.

It also found pollution rife in the Asahan River, North Sumatra, although the major source has long been identified: pulp and paper manufacturer PT Inti Indorayon Utama.

"The supremacy of law should be strictly upheld to stop the liquid industrial waste (from the paper plant)," Jusman said.

The multi-billion dollar pulp and paper plant has been constantly under attack from the DPR and local residents who charge it of rampant logging and polluting the environment.

The commission urged the government to issue a "strong warning" to two East Java paper factories, PT Pakerin and PT Ero KABA, for dumping their waste into the Porong River without proper treatment.

"The river water is blackish in color and it stinks," Jusman said.

Industrial pollution was also reported to be rampant in the Central Java town of Klaten where thousands of residents near the Gondang sugar factory have been breathing "black powder" emitted by the plant for many years.

Jusman said the powder resulting from malfunctioning filters has been falling as far away as two kilometers around the factory, blackening tiles and probably contributing to the poor health of the residents.

In South Sulawesi, household and industrial waste has also ruined the Losari Beach's chance of becoming the province's major tourist destination.

Slack supervision of waste dumping has led to the beach becoming badly contaminated with urban waste, and the government should cope with the problem before it goes ahead with its plan to develop it, Jusman said.

The commission recommended that the local government build public dumps provided with waste treatment facilities to minimize the danger posed by the toxic waste.(pan)