Newmont ad misleading
Newmont ad misleading
Media Indonesia and The Jakarta Post published on Oct. 14,
about a quarter of a page of an advertorial entitled WHO study
concludes no contamination at Buyat. Newmont has also been
publishing the same conclusion in a number of international mass
media publications, particularly in the United States, for
several days now.
The statement in this advertorial gives an erroneous
impression to the readers that the WHO study concluded there was
no contamination in Buyat Bay. Comparing the press release of the
Indonesian health ministry and Newmont advertorial will show that
Newmont has come to a different and exaggerated conclusion.
The result of a WHO study and the press release of the health
ministry do not make the same conclusion as the title of Newmont
advertorial suggests. The press release of the health ministry
does not conclude that there is no environmental contamination in
Buyat Bay. Neither does it conclude that there are no health
problems in the area around Buyat Bay. The WHO study, meanwhile,
confines its conclusion only to the presence or absence of
Minamata disease. This is in keeping with the scope of the study
and the samples collected. For this study, only hair and water
samples have been collected.
Before one can come to the conclusion, as implied in Newmont
advertorial, the samples analyzed and the parameters employed in
the analysis must be more comprehensive. It is necessary, for
example, to test for all biological and chemical contaminants in
Buyat Bay. Then, it is also necessary to measure the extent of
exposure to heavy metals in water and in the air as well as
following the consumption of a number of heavy metals. An
integrated government team is indeed analyzing this feature. As
is known, the health ministry has just planned to conduct a
comprehensive health audit in and around Buyat Bay and its
surroundings in the near future.
Therefore, the conclusion made in the Newmont advertorial
published in a number of mass media publications to the effect
that there is no contamination is both erroneous and unfounded.
This advertorial is tantamount to publishing misleading
information for the public. We hope Newmont is ready to clarify
this matter and apologize to the public accordingly.
P. RAJA SIREGAR, National Executive, Board of WALHI, Jakarta