Industrial waste

From Pikiran Rakyat

We residents of Cibeureum village, South Cimahi district, Bandung, West Java, are very concerned about the location of PT Cimindi Subur and PT Metro Blue Jean Washing situated at Cempaka village, Andir District. The waste disposal methods of these industries are not in line with the regulations stipulated in the GBHN (Broad Lines of the State Policy) to the effect that: "In industrial development attempts should be made to always preserve the existing environment and avoid pollution and environmental damage.

The factories seem to dispose of their industrial wastes by discharging it into the river Cibeureum which has heavily polluted it. The waste produced by PT Cimindi Subur can be noticed in the morning as the water looks black and vapor rises from it. At a certain point down the river the waste mixes with the waste produced by PT Blue Jean Washing, and this waste mixture then flows towards our area.

The problem is that the wells of the people living on either side of the river are polluted resulting from seepage. The color of the well water is dark, and the water is smelly and poisonous. Because of this pollution, some of the nearby fauna is dying.

We earnestly ask the companies to treat their industrial waste before they dump it into the Cibeureum river.

CECEP WAWAN

Bandung, West Java