April 05, 2012
Indonesia’s Ministry of Environment confirmed on Thursday that 118 containers of scrap metal seized at Tanjung Priok port in North Jakarta in February contained hazardous materials.
They are the second batch of scrap metal containers imported into Indonesia that have been proven to contain toxic waste.
The first batch, consisting of 113 containers and arriving in the same port in January, was confirmed in February to contain hazardous materials, commonly referred to as B3 here.
“We’ve conducted some samplings and testing, and the result is the same with the 113 containers. The 118 containers are contaminated with B3 waste,” said Henry Bastaman, the deputy for technical support development and capacity building at the Environment Ministry in Jakarta on Thursday.
“The type of waste materials found are similar with those in the 113 containers. There is oil, electronic waste, chromium and lead.”
Henry said the 118 containers were imported by four Indonesian companies and registered as scrap metal for recycling purposes.
The ministry’s deputy for environmental management, Sudariyono, said last month the 118 containers came from a number of countries in Europe, Asia and Africa, and would be returned to those countries soon after administrative procedures were completed.
The 113 containers in the first batch, meanwhile, came from Britain and the Netherlands, and are expected to soon be sent back to those two countries.
Indonesia’s customs and excise office also seized 130 containers in Surabaya, 77 containers in Medan and 11 containers in Semarang believed to contain toxic waste.
BeritaSatu/JG
vr 6 apr 2012 - 3:58