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ishermen in Batubara regency, North Sumatra, have said they are concerned with seawater contamination caused by waste containing cyanide allegedly from PT Indonesia Asahan Aluminium (Inalum).

Anuar, 53, a fisherman from Perupuk village, said he often found dead fish, such as local fish gelamo, rays and Indian salmon, floating on the surface of the sea when he went fishing.

He, however, said he did not know what had caused the deaths of all the fish.

'All we know is that the fish were already dead. We don't know why. The assumption is that the fish were poisoned by [the factory's] waste,' Anuar said.

Such discoveries, he said, had made many fishermen reluctant to go fishing.

He said the government should immediately address the problem so that fishermen could still make both ends meet from fishing.

'Fishing is the only job we have. Fish stocks will definitely decrease if seawater is polluted,' said Anuar.

North Sumatra University environmentalist Jaya Arjuna said he had done a study on the polluted seawater off the coast of Batubara.

He said that of the three factories that operated in the coastal areas of Batubara, only Inalum had allegedly emitted poisonous and dangerous chemical waste from the aluminum smelting process.

Meanwhile, the other two factories processed oil palm and disposed of harmless plant waste, he said.

He said Inalum's hazardous chemical waste, which according to his research contained cyanide, made its way to the sea, contaminated it and damaged its ecosystem by killing large numbers of fish.

'According to the study, the cyanide level has reached 0.109 ppm [parts per million]. It is extremely dangerous because it exceeds the tolerance level of 0.02 ppm,' he said.

Meanwhile, the North Sumatra branch of the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) has urged the government to appoint one independent institution to investigate the contamination of the seawater the coast of Batubara, which was allegedly caused by Inalum.

Director of Walhi's North Sumatra branch, Kusnaidi Oldani, said the investigation needed to be carried out before the government took over Inalum from Nippon Asahan Aluminum (NAA) on Friday.

Inalum, established in 1976, is 41.12 percent owned by the government and 58.88 percent owned by NAA, a consortium of 12 Japanese companies, including Sumitomo Chemical Co. Ltd., Sumitomo Shoji Kaisha Ltd., Mitsui Aluminium Co. Ltd. and Mitsubishi Corporation.

The government has decided to stop partnering with the Japanese firms and planned to transform Inalum into a new state-owned enterprise.

'The government should conduct an environmental audit of Inalum before completing the acquisition process. This is important so as to ensure Inalum won't harm its surroundings following the acquisition,' he said.

He added that the government could file a lawsuit against Inalum, demanding for environmental recovery, if the company was found to have polluted the environment.

Responding to the accusation, Inalum corporate secretary Deddy P. Tampubolon said Inalum had been abiding by the law in conducting its business.

'We have always adhered to regulations in running our operations. We never contaminate [the environment],' he said.