The teacher, identified as S, 48, experienced a shortness of breath before being diagnosed with pneumonia. He was previously hospitalized for a week in early March.

S' wife, DRS, claimed her husband was not a smoker but had suffered pain caused from inhaling smoke generated by the small-scale industries during his daily commute to and from the school.

The elementary school is located on Jl. Inspeksi Cakung Drain in Cilincing, North Jakarta, some 200 meters from the small-scale industries complex. S’ house is 2 kilometers from the school.

"The only cause might be the smoke [inhaled] during the trip to the school. From our house to the school, he always passes a charcoal home industry,” DRS said on Thursday, as quoted by kompas.com.

After being hospitalized for two weeks at Koja Regional Hospital in early August, S returned home temporarily before being admitted again on Aug. 29.

S is not the only local who has suffered the ill effects of the choking smoke. His neighbors have also complained about the heavy pollution in the air that has left stains on walls and floors in addition to raising health concerns.

The school’s principal, Juhaedin, said the smoke had long been a problem.

“The soot carried by the wind turns the school’s ceramic floors black, the tables black, even the leaves of the banana trees. No volcanoes have erupted but the plants here are pitch black,” he said as reported by kompas.com.

Kampung Sawah resident in Cilincing, Sutiah, 36, also claimed she had suffered from shortness of breath and sore eyes from the smoke despite her kampung being located in a different subdistrict from the home industries.

“It feels like every day if we pass [the location] it is full of dust and soot. The lead dust smells the strongest,” she told kompas.com.

Sutiah expressed concern about her and her children’s health.

“My children have not experienced a shortness of breath but often cough. It seems like children here often miss school because of coughs and colds,” she added.

A tenant of a nearby low-cost apartment, Ernawati, 38, expressed similar concerns, adding that the burning smell was stronger during rainfall.

“When it rains, the [smoke] smells really pungent. I initially thought the soot was black sand but friends told me it was from lead,” she said as reported by kompas.com.

Ernawati added that besides the strong smell at her child's school, soot covered almost every surface.

In response, Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan cited a recently issued gubernatorial instruction on air pollution control that requires the Jakarta Environment Agency to “tighten control on stationary pollutant sources, in particular from chimneys that emit pollutants above emission standards".

He said, "All activities that emit smoke must be measured and meet the standard.”

“If you are in violation, expect to be punished,” Anies told reporters at City Hall Friday.

Jakarta Environment Agency head Andono Warih said the agency had measured air quality in the area in 2016, which showed pollutants like nitrogen dioxide and hydrogen sulfide were above threshold levels.

In March 2019, the North Jakarta Environment Agency conducted a field inspection and recorded that 23 charcoal producers operated 24 hours a day while two small-scale tin smelters were also operated in the area.

To curb pollution in the area, the agency held a meeting with local industry and the business players on Aug. 21 at which several agreements were reached.

“Business players said they were willing to halt their activities and change profession,” Andono said in a press statement on Friday.

The city administration gave them one month to settle their orders and obligations to other parties.

Andono also claimed they were willing to alter the timing of their burning from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. only.

“If there are public complaints regarding air pollution, we will conduct a review of the agreement,” he said.

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