Mislabeling caused explosion: Investigation

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.