Lead pollution, a big problem

We refer to the letter 'Danger lurking everywhere' (Dec. 2, 1997) by Mr. Soegih Arto.

I very much appreciate that finally somebody is tackling the subject.

According to a very recent CNBC report, Jakarta is one of the cities with the highest pollution in the world, it is three times the acceptable level, with the result that very grave health problems are the consequence. Out of our own personal experience we can confirm everything Mr. Soegih Arto said.

When we recently had a hair test in Europe, both my wife and I were found to have extremely high lead levels, for which there are only two main sources. One source is lead water pipes, with its effect on drinking water, which is in our case excluded, since we only drink distilled water. The other main source is air pollution from car exhaust, industrial exhaust and burning garbage.

Excessive lead in the body can severely damage the immune system, can cause hyperactivity, difficulties in learning, loss of energy, anemia, digestion problems caused by damage to the nervous system and many other problems.

We do not want to cause panic, but the problem has become very serious since last year, when our hair test did not show the same results as this year.

If we are affected, living in the South of Jakarta, in a fairly green area and far away from the main arteries and petrol stations, we can only imagine that others are much more affected, perhaps the majority of Jakarta's population.

It is high time the government did something in respect to traffic, other countries recognize the danger, like for instance Thailand, where the police are now regularly checking cars on the road, and when they are found to have excessive exhaust, the driver gets a heavy fine and his driving license is withdrawn for a certain period until he has fixed the exhaust on his car/bus.

The main culprits, and we presume it is the same in Jakarta, are buses or public transportation, which are not well maintained, and no effective controls exist anyway. We realize that very little can be done about traffic jams, which seriously worsen the situation, but another source of pollution can certainly be reduced, i.e. educating the population not to burn garbage, particularly plastic materials at home, which is a widespread habit and emits a lot of poison.

We would like to add that the recent smog caused by fires in Kalimantan have nothing to do with our own results, since we left the country before this occurred.

We do hope that competent authorities are reading this and do take the necessary steps, even high officials have to breathe the same air as we do, everybody is involved and affected.

LEO SETZEPFANDT

Jakarta