Mislabeling caused explosion: Investigation

Theresia Sufa, The Jakarta Post, Bogor

An internal investigation into the explosion at a warehouse owned by Prasadha Pamunah Limbah Industri (PPLi) in Klapa Nunggal facility, Bogor, the country's largest hazardous waste processing firm, revealed the mislabeling of toxic materials as the cause.

The letter signed by PPLi president director Edward A. Corcoran on April 16, which the Bogor Council received on Monday, stated "human error as the cause, as PPLi personnel failed to detect mislabeled materials stored at the facility in Narogong village, Nambo subdistrict".

Corcoran also stated in the letter that the result of investigation on the March 9 explosion had been submitted to the Office of the State Minister for the Environment, while a regular inspection will be conducted under the supervision of the office of the state minister and Bogor environmental management agency.

"PPLi is designed to anticipate the worst possibility of environmental damage during an emergency," the letter stated.

Chairman of Bogor Council's Commission C on economics, Dedi Mulyadi, told a briefing on Monday that the councillors would still insist on having a meeting with PPLi executives.

"We need to know what kind of toxic material exploded at that time, as it was not stated in the letter, because it certainly polluted the air and water used by the residents, the impact of which may be felt in the next 20 years," Dedi said.

Just a few hours after the fire, which was contained after six hours, PPLi issued a statement saying no dangerous chemicals had been released into the environment as a result of the fire.

The fire did not cause any injuries or disrupt the company's operations.

However, local residents, who lived 30 meters from the PPLi facility, said that the river and water in their wells had turned black after the fire.

"The councillors want the government to provide a 300-meter buffer zone to protect the residents," Dedi added.

PPLi runs the largest waste disposal and hazardous material facility in Indonesia, processing about 60,000 tons of industrial waste from 800 companies across Indonesia last year, including mining giant Newmont Minahasa in North Sulawesi.

PPLi is controlled by Modern Asia Environmental Holdings, which also owns hazardous material processing facilities in Thailand.