Suitcase factory charged with dumping toxic waste

JAKARTA (JP): City officials said yesterday that their investigation of a suitcase factory in West Jakarta, gases from which are believed to be responsible for the death of one woman and the hospitalization of seven others, has revealed that the factory does not have a waste treatment plant.

The head of the city's environment bureau, Aboejoewono Aboeprajitno, said that the waste of PT Continental Panji Pratama, in Kapuk, West Jakarta, was being dumped directly into a nearby river.

"The high level of acidity in the river, about 1-3 ph, is strong proof that the waste was never treated before being discharged," Aboejoewono said, adding that the greenish color was probably from chromium.

"The company has been dumping chromium waste in the river since its waste dump facility broke down last year," Aboejoewono said.

Last week, one housewife died and seven other people were hospitalized after inhaling fumes emitted from waste water allegedly disposed of by the company.

"The fumes contained a high level of sulfur," Aboejoewono said.

The factory building on Jl. Berdikari, 39, produces "President" brand briefcases and suitcases for export.

The victims are residents of nearby Gang Jamblang, a small flood-prone alleyway near the back of the factory. Aboejoewono said the makeshift houses built by the residents along the back wall of the company are uninhabitable and not part of city planning.

"The shacks have very poor air circulation systems," he said.

The shanties, built in 1989, 14 years after the factory was built, are home to more than 50 people, mostly construction workers and their kin from Serang, West Java.

Aboejoewono refused to say what sanctions might be imposed on the company.

According to a 1982 environmental law, factory owners found guilty of polluting face 10 years imprisonment or fines of up to Rp 100 million (US$43,478).

Aboejowono said the same law and government regulation No. 51/1993 mandate that factories must undergo an environmental impact analysis and set up waste management programs.

"The city administration should also take action against those living in the prohibited areas," he added.

In a related development, a city public order official said that the shacks would be torn down soon.

"The area is dangerous as floods could hit at any time. The squatters must abandon the area," said the official, Toha Reno.(yns)