Ignorance delaying action against air pollution
JAKARTA (JP): Noted health expert and member of the House of Representatives Nafsiah Mboi said ignorance is one factor behind the delay to solve air pollution here.
Nafsiah told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday that ignorance, mainly of the effects of lead on human health, is one reason behind the lack of public pressure to phase out leaded gasoline. She was participating in a seminar on Greater Jakarta at the Regent Hotel.
State-owned oil company Pertamina introduced unleaded gasoline last year. But the gasoline -- called Super TT and priced at Rp 1,000 (43 US cents) per liter -- has yet to attract consumers, who mostly choose regular gasoline at Rp 700 per liter.
"Babies can be born with defects, and intelligence levels of children can deteriorate," Nafsiah said, mentioning some of the effects of lead.
John E. Walton, an environment specialist at the Jakarta office of the World Bank, cited studies revealing that over 70 percent of slum residents here have been found to have high concentrations of lead in their blood, reaching 30 micrograms per deciliter.
Meanwhile, earlier studies suggested blood lead levels in children of 10 micrograms per deciliter, causing impaired intelligence and other problems, he said.
The city's center for urban environmental research pointed out earlier that private vehicles are the major source of pollution, including lead.
Nafsiah said the fact that poor people are more easily affected may also be another reason why repeated calls to phase out leaded gas is receiving such a slow response.
"I can just sit in my car and turn the air conditioner on with closed windows," Nafsiah said.
Poor people, particularly women, are more affected as their health is also worsened by household pollutants, particularly in slum areas, she said.
She said that as development should be people-oriented, people -- with assistance from the government -- should decide what kind of development they want.
"They must decide what kind of environment they want" and support necessary actions for a more livable city, she said.
Another reason in the slow shift to unleaded gasoline is the reluctance of officials who may know of the effects, but are not powerful enough to influence stronger measures, Nafsiah said.
Nafsiah said she did not see any grounds for fears that the unleaded gas required engine additions called catalytic converters and that the measures to produce unleaded gas by refineries may be more expensive for both producers and consumers.
"Thailand and other poorer countries managed in five years," she said, stressing the long-term benefits to health.
Walton cited experiences in other countries where unleaded gasoline was gradually made cheaper than leaded gasoline.
Switching the subsidy for leaded gasoline to a subsidy for the unleaded type would be one of the possible measures, he said.
He also said at least 30 countries -- including Brunei Darussalam, Hong Kong, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Taiwan -- have set lower limits on the permissible lead content of gasoline in phasing out the leaded type: 0.15 grams per liter, compared to 0.4 here.
Experts are divided on the benefits of unleaded gasoline. Earlier, Kardono, a scientist at the Agency for the Application and Assessment of Technology, has said there are still environmental hazards attached to unleaded gasoline. (anr)