Minister calls for efficiency to reduce air pollution

JAKARTA (JP): State Minister of Environment Sarwono Kusumaatmadja called yesterday for efficiency in the production process to minimize urban air pollution.

Factories should improve their production management to reduce the level of gas emissions and pollutant substances, he said when addressing a seminar on air pollution control organized by the state-owned oil company Pertamina.

Sarwono said the government's Langit Biru (Blue Sky) campaign should be made a success.

The clean air campaign, which was inspired by a similar drive in Tokyo, has been implemented in major industrial cities in Java, such as Greater Jakarta and Semarang.

According to Sarwono, air pollution in Indonesian major cities has reached an alarming level.

In Greater Jakarta, for example, an estimated 400,000 tons of pollutants from vehicles, industrial plants and the burning of household waste are released into the air every year.

"Unless precautionary measures are taken as now, Indonesia would be overwhelmed by the air pollution," Sarwono said as quoted by Antara.

Beside the zero emission drive, the government also promotes "industrial forestry", which requires factory management to grow trees around their plant to contain pollution.

Sarwono has urged the fuel industry to steadily reduce pollutant contents in their products.

Official statistics show that in 1995, transportation activities in the Greater Jakarta produced 473 tons of pollutants, industry 22,000 tons and household 8,184 tons.

Faisal Abda'oe, Pertamina president director, said his firm has taken concrete actions to help curb air pollution.

Pertamina recently stopped producing Super-98 gasoline, whose lead content reached 2.5 milliliters/gallon, and replaced it with premium with a lead content of 1.5 milliliters/gallon.

This year, Pertamina will sell Premix with a lead content of only one milliliter/gallon, he said. (pan)