There really is something in the water

The Jakarta Post, Monday 6 February 2006

All water contains some impurities. As water flows in streams, sits in lakes and filters through layers of soil and rock in the ground, it dissolves or absorbs substances of its surroundings. Some of these substances are harmless, but at certain levels can make the water unpalatable or even dangerous.

When water runs through populated regions, the contaminants no longer consist of erosion from natural rock formations, but discharge from factories, farmlands or even substances used by consumers in their home and yard. Sources of contaminants may be nearby or many kilometers away.

The Jakarta Environmental Management Agency annually warns of the worsening quality of Jakarta’s water, whether in rivers, lakes, ground water, or in the Jakarta Bay.

Some naturally occurring sources of pollution include microorganisms, such as bacteria, viruses, and parasites, and radioactive elements, including uranium and radium, that may be present in underlying rock and groundwater.

Although high nitrate levels are usually due to human activities, they may be found naturally in groundwater, and come from the breakdown of nitrogen compounds in the soil.

Underground rocks and soils may contain arsenic, cadmium, chromium, lead, and selenium, but these are not often found in household wells.

Many water systems add small amounts of fluoride to drinking water, which is considered helpful in dental health, but excessive consumption can damage bone tissue.

Bacteria and nitrates are pollutants found in human and animal wastes, and septic tanks, sanitary landfills, and garbage dumps are usually the source of bacterial and nitrate pollution.

Activities such as mining and construction can release large amounts of heavy metals into nearby groundwater sources.

Farmers use fertilizers and pesticides to promote growth and reduce insect damage, these are also used on golf courses and urban lawns and gardens. The chemicals in these products may end up in groundwater, depending on the types and amounts of chemicals used and how they are applied.

In addition, chemicals used to treat buildings and homes for termites or other pests may also pose a threat.

Nearby factories, industrial plants and even gas stations and dry cleaners handle a variety of hazardous chemicals that need careful management. Spills and improper disposal can threaten ground water supplies.

Petroleum products, chemicals, and wastes stored in underground storage tanks and pipes may end up in the groundwater, especially if tanks and piping leak due to improper installation. Steel tanks and piping corrode with age.

Landfills and waste dumps may have a wide variety of pollutants that can seep into ground water.

In the household, improper disposal of cleaning solvents, used motor oil, paints, paint thinners, soaps and detergents, can harm drinking water.

Household plumbing materials are the most common source of lead and copper in home drinking water. Corrosive water may cause metals in pipes or soldered joints to leach into tap water. The water’s acidity or alkalinity, as well as temperature and mineral content, greatly affects corrosion. JP/Tantri Yuliandini

Scrapping car tax worsen pollution

Jakarta Post Tuesday, January 03, 2006

Many things are done in the name of the economy, and many other things are given up to make sure the wheels of industry continue rolling, including it seems, the right of people to breathe fresher air.

The central government’s recent decision to scrap the new Governmental Regulation No. 41/2005 on car luxury tax was criticized by the environmental umbrella group, the Forum for Cleaner Emissions Partnership (MEB). The group said the move went against the government’s commitment to create a sustainable, greener environment.

“The decision conflicts with the Ministry of Transportation’s commitment to lessen air pollution through emission tests for private vehicles in 2006,” MEB program manager Firdaus Cahyadi said in a statement received by The Jakarta Post during the weekend.

Environmentalists’ hopes were initially high that the number of private vehicles in the city — estimated at about 1.3 million — could be reduced when the government increased fuel prices in October.

And according to data from the Association of Indonesian Automotive Industries (Gaikindo), there has been a dramatic drop-off in the sales of cars — to about 44,000 in September, and 35,000 units in October, following August’s record sales of 50,624 units.

A gloomy Gaikindo predicted it would miss 2005’s target sales of 550,000 cars sold, and revised down its target for this year to between 425,000 and 500,000 units.

Another drop in car sales was expected when on Oct. 25 the government formalized a luxury tax increase, aiming at further lowering the country’s dependence on gasoline.

While luxury tax for vehicles with engine capacity below 1,500 cc remained unchanged, the new regulation would have increased luxury tax on sedans with engine capacity between 1,500 cc and 2,500 cc by 40 percent to 50 percent, multi-purpose vehicles (MPV) between 1,500 cc and 2,500 cc to 25 percent, and gasoline-fueled vehicles with engine capacity between 2,500 cc and 3,000 cc to 50 percent. The tax was to have been imposed in early 2006.

However, after pressure from auto makers, who noted that they made up 6.67 percent of the nation’s total industry, on Dec. 22, the government ditched the tax.

It said fuel consumption had already decreased since the price increase and that further measures to lower dependence on fuel were not needed.

Minister of Industry Fahmi Idris said scrapping the tax would mean passenger car sales could increase to up to 560,000 units next year, worth about Rp 8.6 trillion (about US$996.5 million) for the government in other tax revenues.

Environmentalists, meanwhile, point out that motor vehicles noise and emissions made up about 70 percent of the city’s pollution.

“The increasing number of people using motor vehicles will automatically push up the level of air and noise pollution in the city,” Institute of Transportation Studies (Intran) director Darmaningtyas said. This increase would cause a corresponding gain in heart and lung illnesses, he said.

Until Dec. 1, the city had only 28 days this year when the air quality was categorized as “good”, compared to 53 days in 2004, and 75 days in 2001.

Instead of encouraging more car owners to jam the roads of Jakarta — where the average speed is a sluggish 14.75 kilometers an hour and traffic jam-related financial losses are estimated at Rp 41.05 billion a day — the government would do better to push for a more environmentally friendly mass transportation system, MEB said.

The group said the Jakarta administration’s Busway program was a good way to increase the use of public transport, but noted the plan was offset by the government’s scheme to build six more inner-city toll roads by 2008.

“This plan accommodates the demand for more private vehicles on the streets, and only shows the current government’s fixation with the interests of investors,” Firdaus said.

Ambitious clean air bylaw lacks support provisions

The Jakarta Post, Thursday 29 December 2005

The New Year’s resolution by the Jakarta administration is to make the city breathable, but that could be too ambitious even with the issuance of Bylaw No. 2/2005 on air pollution control, which will go into effect in February.

Except for Gubernatorial Regulation No. 75/2005 supporting the bylaw’s smoking ban, no other regulation has been issued to support other aspects of the bylaw, such as the use of natural gas in all public transportation and government vehicles, as well as the control of vehicular emissions.

“We have completed a draft regulation for the use of natural gas in public transportation, however we lack support from the City Council,” Head of the Jakarta Environment Management Agency (BPLHD) Kosasih Wirahadikusumah said on Wednesday.

Looking at past experiences in trying to encourage the use natural gas, Kosasih cited the implementation of a Gubernatorial Instruction in 1992 effectively requiring taxi companies to use the alternative fuel in at least 20 percent of the cars in their fleet.

“It worked well at the time because the price difference between natural gas and gasoline was quite high. But as time went on, this difference lessened until the price of the two fuels became relatively similar,” he said, explaining that without the price edge, natural gas became too ineffective for taxi companies.

At present there are only about 500 government-owned vehicles using natural gas, Kosasih — who was a guest speaker at a press conference on Jakarta’s air quality organized by the Forum for Cleaner Emission Partnership (MEB) on Wednesday — added.

To date, only four of the 18 of the original natural gas fuel stations are still operational. These is one on Jl. Sumenep in Menteng, Central Jakarta; another in the Semanggi area of Central Jakarta; another in Tebet, South Jakarta; and on Jl. D.I. Panjaitan in Cawang, East Jakarta.

Kosasih said that it was only after the fuel price hikes on Oct. 1 that natural gas became feasible again.

“But after ignoring their gas conversion kits for more than a decade, reusing them without first servicing the kits can have disastrous results,” he said, citing the explosion of a Kosti Taxi on Dec 12.

This incident, has in turn heightened the public’s concern over the safety of using such fuel in vehicles.

“Without an intelligible explanation, there will always be public resistance towards the use of natural gas, particularly the safety aspects,” MEB program manager Firdaus Cahyadi said during the press conference.

Also during the press conference, MEB researcher Joko Sulistyono highlighted the government’s dominance over the country’s fuel industry, which unfortunately still looks down on natural gas production for fuel.

Kosasih, however, was optimistic that with the Jakarta administration’s commitment to using natural gas in buses on the new busway lines, more demand would follow and with it the industry. After that, it was a matter of time before all other public transportation companies followed suit.

“The new bylaw will possibly be implemented to force public transportation companies to install natural gas devices for all their fleets when they renew their operating licenses,” he said.

Meanwhile, experts say the easiest part to implement on Bylaw No. 2, is the requirement to regularly inspect and maintain private cars and motorcycles so that they adhere to the recommended emission standards, but that too has its problems.

Kosasih said that to date there were only 80 certified car shops in the city able to carry out emission tests, while at least 200 would be needed. And only 239 out of 600 certified technicians were currently available.

“Furthermore, there are no specific emissions standards available for two-stroke engine motorcycles,” he said.

Meanwhile, Firdaus said that the public — familiar with the bribery that goes on with the road worthiness tests for public vehicles — only view the new regulation to put private vehicles through regular inspections and maintenance as just another method of extortion.

“So unless the government repairs the road worthiness test for public vehicles, this image will remain in the public’s mind and they will, of course, resist,” he said.