Pollution of Jakarta Bay

I refer to your editorial in The Jakarta Post of May 15 entitled Bad smell in N. Jakarta. This is a horror story and well-known by those who enjoy the sea around Jakarta and the Thousand Islands

In a chapter about Indonesia's Fisheries Resources in Indonesia: Resources, Ecology, and Environment edited by Joan Hardjono published 1991 Oxford University Press it is stated "The most devastating Indonesian example of this is the pollution of Jakarta Bay which has partially destroyed the inshore fishing industry and completed the destruction of the coral reefs of coastal islands like Pulau Ayer".

The chapter then proceeds to list the dangerous condition of bay shellfish -- carriers of typhoid and hepatitis virus, faecal coli levels at 25 times World-Health-Organization-recommended levels and noting average faecal coliform and faecal streptococcal counts were also high.

Applying U.S. EPA standards, heavy metal levels such a lead and cadmium were very high, while mercury, zinc and copper were high. Consequently, much of the fish caught in Jakarta Bay was not edible. In villages close to the pollution source, children were already showing indications of Minamata disease.

I am sure the condition of the bay has worsened in the past 15 years since this information was written. Speedy and decisive action is needed.

The solution is of course industrial compliance and an effective sewage system for Jakarta.

T. C. SCOTT Bogor, West Java