The Waste TPA Fire Caused The Release Of Fertile Substances

Photo Archives - Firefighters with the support of helicopters extinguished fires at the Rawa Cat Garbage TPA, Tangerang City, Banten Province, Monday (23/10/23). (ANTARA PHOTO/SULTHONY HASANUDDIN)

JAKARTA - Director of Waste Management of the Ministry of Environment and Forestry Novrizal Tahar said that the fire that occurred at the landfill site (TPA) of waste caused the release of toxic substances that could endanger the environment and human health.

"All the toxic substances come out, there are diocsin, furan, carbon monoxide, sulfur, and so on, because all (garbage) is burned," said Novrizal as quoted by ANTARA, Wednesday, November 8.

He said that since the beginning of 2023 until now there have been 35 TPA burned throughout Indonesia.

The fire that occurred in the TPA, according to him, was more difficult to extinguish because of the fuel source in the form of methane gas produced by organic waste.

Novrizal said it made the effort to extinguish the fire at the TPA could last for days.

"The most terrible thing is the Rawa Cat TPA fire. The Cat Rawa TPA is only 2.5 kilometers from the bottom of Soekarno-Hatta Airport, for a time seven international aircraft could not land," he said.

"Imagine if it was not extinguished at that time, it could also be thischaos, we are also ashamed in the international world," he said.

The fire that occurred at the Rawa Cat TPA on October 20, 2023, prompted the Tangerang City Government in Banten Province to impose an emergency response status from October 20 to November 2, 2023.

The local government had evacuated residents who lived in the area around the garbage storage facility to reduce the impact of smoke due to fires on residents' health.