KLHK: Be Careful Seeing Air Quality Measuring Equipment With A Single Parameter

Screenshot/Minister of Environment and Forestry (KLHK) Siti Nurbaya Bakar

JAKARTA - Minister of Environment and Forestry (LHK) Siti Nurbaya Bakar appealed to the public to be careful in translating single-parameter air quality monitoring tools.

"We also follow, there are other tools in the public sphere used. It's IQAir and others that only measure with a 2.5 micron (PM2.5) particle," he said in a virtual press conference followed from the Presidential Secretariat's YouTube quoted by ANTARA, Monday, August 28.

Siti reminded users of the application to be careful in translating indicators that arise from measuring tools with a single parameter.

"I ask us to be careful to see it, because if you only use a size of 2.5 microns, you need to be careful because the size of the water vapor is also that much (the figure, ed.), even though water vapor is not an air pollution material," he said.

He said 56 units of ISPU (Air Pollution Standard Index) equipment which are now scattered in various public facilities in Indonesia are equipped with seven parameters of assessing the surrounding air quality.

The Minister of Environment and Forestry gave an example of one of the tools currently installed in the Gelora Bung Karno (GBK) area of Jakarta having air quality parameters based on nitrogen, sulfur, 10 micron particles (PM10), PM2.5, to carbon monoxide (CO).

"CO is if from the exhaust white smoke comes out, it's CO. Hydrocarbons that like to black out of the combustion device, there's more ozone. This Ozone that enters the atmosphere will also interfere," he said.

Siti said all parameters used by government measuring instruments already use the Indonesian National Standard (SNI), starting from the tools used, to the installation method.

"Now there are standards issued by the National Standardization Agency (BSN). This will be continued, continued, carried out as well as possible in a short time," he said.