Tb. Arie Rukmantara, Jakarta – Environmentalists warned Thursday that channeling treated water from hot toxic mud into East Java's Madura Strait posed a threat of pollution that could hurt the local fishing industry. The activists doubted the planned treatment would remove all the toxic chemicals from the mud.
The sludge has piled up as high as five meters on about 200 hectares of land in Sidoarjo regency, a large industrial zone and the economic backbone of East Java province.
Riza Damanik, a marine and coastal campaigner with the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi), said he was doubtful that Lapindo Brantas Inc. would be able to process all the water contained in the seven million cubic meters of mud that has gushed out of its gas well since May 29.
Not only did the mud contain toxic substances such as phenol, but it carried suspended solid materials, which are difficult to extract, he argued. "I'm not sure that the company is able to separate all the water from the mud," Riza said, adding that water makes up 30 percent of the mud.
Besides the contents of the sludge, Riza said its quantity is also a concern. "About 1.8 cubic meters of this mud gushes out of the earth every second. I don't believe Lapindo can process all of it," he said. "Because it is a complicated process, it's possible that the company would only process some of the water and would dispose of untreated water at the same time," he added.
The State Ministry for the Environment has forbidden Lapindo to dump sludge water into the sea unless the toxic substances are removed. Lapindo's majority owner is the family of Aburizal Bakrie, the nation's welfare minister.
Riza suggested the government and Lapindo hold a meeting with geologists and other experts to evaluate the disposal plan and find other ways to contain the mudflow in the ground, without dumping it to the sea or river.
Greenomics Indonesia also urged the government to reconsider permitting Lapindo to dump the mud water in the sea, warning the move could cause further harm.
"Should the treatment not be 100 percent guaranteed toxic-free, this option would only cause economic, social and ecological damage to the country's marine system," said Greenomics executive director Elfian Effendi.
He said if the Madura Strait becomes polluted, that will harm not only its own ecosystem, but also the livelihoods of nine surrounding municipalities in East Java.
Based on the province's economic statistics, the nine coastal municipalities produce about 183,000 tons of fish per capita worth some Rp 1.2 trillion (US$133 million)
"That does not include other fishery activities, such as open water fisheries and fish ponds," he said. He added that the East Java fishing industry annually produced up to 490,000 tons of products valued at around Rp 3.4 trillion.