DKI Provincial Government Again Finds Factory That Pollutes The Seawater With Paracetamol In Jakarta Bay

Illustration-Reclamation island area in Jakarta Bay (Photo: ANTARA)

JAKARTA - The DKI Jakarta Provincial Government has again found one factory causing paracetamol pollution in Jakarta Bay, namely PT B. Previously, there was already one factory, namely PT MEF, which was determined to be the perpetrator of the pollution. Thus, currently, there are two factories known to contaminate paracetamol in Jakarta Bay.

The head of the DKI Environmental Agency, Asep Kuswanto, said that this was known based on the investigation and verification of activities/businesses suspected of producing paracetamol-containing products in North Jakarta area.

"The results of field verification of pharmaceutical business activities in the North Jakarta area, it is known that PT MEF and PT B have not complied with wastewater management as evidenced by the results of laboratory examinations of pharmaceutical industry wastewater," said Asep in his statement, Thursday, November 11.

Just like PT MEF, Asep also applied administrative sanctions in the form of a written warning to PT DF. The company is also required to repair their wastewater treatment plant (IPAL).

In the administrative sanction submitted, the Department of Environment requires PT MEF and PT B to close the outlet channel for the wastewater WWTP and improve the performance of the WWTP and take care of the technical approval of wastewater disposal in the context of controlling water pollution.

"The application of administrative sanctions is a step taken in a series of environmental management monitoring activities to law enforcement against business activities that do not comply with environmental management, which includes wastewater management," said Asep.

For information, after the uproar over the finding of paracetamol content whose samples were taken in 2017, DKI took samples of Jakarta seawater again on October 2.

After completing the study, the Head of the DKI Jakarta Environment Agency, Asep Kuswanto, said that currently, the paracetamol content is still contaminating the seawater of Teuk Jakarta. However, not as many as the findings of the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) in 2017.

"Our study has been completed for the paracetamol. Indeed, the value we get is not as big as that available or released by BRIN. But the content is around 200 nanograms. The BRIN is around 600 nanograms," said Asep.