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Jakarta tightens controls over industrial chimneys to stem air pollution
The Jakarta Environment Agency conducted impromptu inspections on Thursday morning and found numerous companies that were polluting the city's air because of inadequate filters inside their industrial chimneys.
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An official of the Jakarta Environment Agency checks a factory alleged to have failed to meet industrial chimney emission standards and to have contributed to air pollution in the Cakung area of East Jakarta on Aug. 8. (JP/Rainier Nathaniel)
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fter issuing a policy related to restricting the vehicles allowed on the city's streets, the Jakarta administration is now setting its sights on controlling the pollution emitted by industries as it struggles to tackle the smog choking the capital.
The Jakarta Environment Agency has increased its efforts to reprimand industries found to be polluting the air through their chimneys.
The agency found that at least 47 companies conducting various kinds of business in the city, out of a total of 114, with 1,150 industrial chimneys have failed to meet air quality standards in their filtration systems and thus emit pollution into the city’s air, agency head Andono Warih said.
“Throughout 2019, we have reprimanded 77 industries that have been proven to be disobeying environmental regulations [including on air pollution]. This is an increase from the previous year, which was 18,” Andono said during an impromptu visit to two factories with industrial chimneys on Thursday.
One of the industries reprimanded was PT Mahkota Indonesia located in Pengangsaan Dua, Kelapa Gading, North Jakarta. Based on the agency’s laboratory tests, the company's industrial chimneys were releasing sulfur dioxide (SO2) beyond the safe level. The company produces sulfuric acid and sodium silicate for other manufacturers.
Personnel of the Jakarta Environment Agency and the Jakarta Police visited the factory to hand over the notice for the company to improve its chimney filtration system within 45 days.
The impromptu visit was an administrative punishment for the company for failing to addressing the problem after the agency’s first written warning letter about its emissions. If the company fails to comply with the second notice, its environmental permits issued by the agency could be suspended or even revoked.
