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Lung Cancer Day: Air pollution, silent killer
The only good news about Jakarta’s air is heightened awareness about pollution in the capital. The pollution-choked Jakarta sky is a dangerous sign that should raise our awareness of how to prepare healthy and fresh air for the next generation.
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Hardly visible: Smog blankets Jakarta’s skyscrapers. Air pollution in the city is among the worst in the world. (The Jakarta Post/Wendra Ajistyatama )
T
he only good news about Jakarta’s air is heightened awareness about pollution in the capital. The pollution-choked Jakarta sky is a dangerous sign that should raise our awareness of how to prepare healthy and fresh air for the next generation. Certainly, all should struggle to cope with this serious problem, which should not only be a lifelong burden of the government.
Ahead of World Lung Cancer Day on Aug. 1, Greenpeace Indonesia released a report that air pollution in Jakarta was the highest in Southeast Asia. Unfortunately, many people do not realize the risk of breathing polluted air while inhaling air containing hazardous, fine and unseen particles. These materials accumulate within the body, especially in our lungs. Last year the World Health Organization estimated that nine of 10 humans breathe unhealthy air. Moreover, one of nine causes of death was triggered by inhaling polluted air.
Standardization in evaluating ambient air pollution is a must. One cause of carelessness in responding to air pollution is because of different standards among the Environment and Forestry Ministry and other related bodies. According to the ministry’s Air Pollution Standard Index, air quality in most Indonesian cities are at safe levels.
Based on standards of the ISPU with a scale of zero to 3,000, Jakarta’s air condition is under 101 or “moderate”, which means “the air quality level has no effect on human or animal health, but influences sensitive plants and aesthetic values”.
Meanwhile, Greenpeace uses the Air Quality Index (AQI). The standard from 0 to 500 uses five different colors to indicate health impacts. By using the AQI, real-time air quality in Jakarta clearly shows an unhealthy level (around 160). It states that while everyone is affected, “members of sensitive groups may experience more serious health effects”. For the sake of air purity, the Environment and Forestry Ministry should modify its index.
Enforcing environment protection rules is also important. A breakthrough announced earlier this month was the Supreme Court ruling that rejected an appeal filed by President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo against a lower court ruling that found his government guilty of failing to prevent the 2015 forest fires engulfing 2.6 million hectares in Sumatra and Kalimantan.
Following this improvement, the government should adopt China’s regulation to crackdown on air pollution by ceasing operation of many factories.
