Tangerang Residents Protest Tin Smelting Factory Smoke: Causing Breathing Difficulties

A number of residents in Kadu Village, Curug District, Tangerang Regency, Banten, have complained about poor air quality caused by smoke pollution from an NFU company facility, which manages Toxic and Hazardous (B3) waste through tin smelting. The distress felt by residents due to this air pollution occurs daily, resulting from the factory’s 24-hour operations. Local residents frequently experience dizziness, nausea, and shortness of breath due to the sulphur-like odour produced by the tin smelting process.

“The smell is like sulphur, causing dizziness; many are suffering from Acute Respiratory Infections (ISPA), and many children have also fallen ill,” said Ahmad (40), a resident of Kadu Village, on Sunday (7/6).

He revealed that, in addition to causing public health disturbances, the air pollution also creates odours and contaminates water with a metallic smell, allegedly due to the disposal of tin smelting waste. “The residents’ water has also taken on a metallic scent because of this factory,” he added.

He noted that this air pollution has been ongoing for 23 years. According to him, since he became a resident of Kadu Village in 2003, the company has been active in recycling used batteries and accumulators to be reprocessed into raw materials supplied to various battery and cable factories across Indonesia.

For that duration, he continued, residents across three community units (RW 01, 02, and 03) have experienced distress from the factory’s air pollution, which can be detected from distances of 1.6 to 5 kilometres. “The radius is up to 5 kilometres from the residential area, and even at 5 kilometres, the smell is still present when the wind is strong,” he said.

Despite the significant environmental impact, the residents hope that the local government, particularly the Tangerang Regency Government, will take decisive action and conduct inspections. “Reports have been made, but we do not know why there has been no action until now. We only hope that the government will process this,” he concluded.