The heat is on

In Kompas (Feb. 12) I read an article under the heading Three members of one family died when they fell into a septic tank. The tank was 15 meters deep and 1.5 meters in diameter. I don't intend to dwell on the accident, but what interest me most is the following description: Inside the septic tank is methane gas, the specific gravity of which exceeds the weight of air. If a man inhales methane gas for only two minutes, he will die as if he were strangled.

A septic tank is filled with human waste. In a closed condition the deterioration of human waste by anaerobe bacteria produces methane gas, which does not smell and is colorless. Methane gas is inflammable and is utilized as biogas. Besides methane gas, from the septic tank appears sulfurous gas, the smell of which is pungent to the nose.

The septic tank accident reminded me of a friend's letter from Taiwan dated May 6, 1996.

"While I was conducting a tour in Nantou village in Taichung province with U.S. air force personnel (officers and enlisted men) to show them how the villagers make tapioca flour, I happened to enter the kitchen. The proprietor's wife was cooking, but I saw no charcoal burning. So I ventured to ask her about this matter. Her reply was that gas from human waste was utilized. A plastic pipe was connected to the rear end of the lavatory's underground septic tank. Can you imagine?"

So the sad Kompas article provided me with a clear and technical explanation of the ingenuity of the human mind. I don't know whether this method is being implemented in Indonesia but I said to myself: the ingenuity of the Taiwanese people has made them -- with a foreign exchange reserve of US$100 billion -- one of the richest nations in the world.

A. DJUANA

Jakarta