Polluting Paradise
24 images Created 28 Apr 2013
Let me tell you a story of a polluted paradise.
We used to call it 'Parahyangan' or the place where the Gods and Goddesses resided. The river that passes through it stretches 270 km from the Wayang Mountain to the Java Sea, giving life along its course.
We call it the Citarum River. Ci and Tarum, "Ci" is water, and "Tarum" or indigo is a plant of the pea family that was widely cultivated over a century ago as a source of dark blue dye. It is also linked to the 'Tarumanagara' Kingdom, one of the country's oldest Kingdoms, once victorious on the outskirts of the Citarum River. Today, millions of people depend on the river and surrounding area for agricultural and domestic use.
Today, the Citarum River has the reputation of being one of the dirtiest rivers in the world. It looks like a gigantic sewer. The water is tainted by toxic industrial waste, has a terrible odor and is filled with garbage.
The visible problem of garbage and untreated domestic wastewater in the Citarum is severe. But to make matters worse, local factories are pumping wastewater containing toxic and hormone-disrupting chemicals directly into the water supply. The wastewater is sometimes multi-coloured, sometimes invisible. The textile sector is a major source of this pollution, especially in the Upper Citarum where 68% of the factories produce textiles, and where the PT Gistex facility is located.
The wastewater discharged from this facility provides a clear example of the type of hazardous chemicals being discharged every day into the Citarum River -- affecting the local ecosystem and the livelihoods of millions of people.
The testing results reveal a real cocktail of hazardous chemicals including nonylphenol (NP), antimony and tributylphosphate being pumped in the Citarum. Many of these chemicals are toxic, while some have hormone-disrupting and highly persistent properties. The investigations also revealed wastewater from one of the smaller outfalls to be extremely alkaline or 'caustic' (pH 14) indicating that this wastewater had not received even the most basic treatment before discharge and a direct contact could burn the human skin.
There is no question that this type of pollution affects the livelihoods of local communities, fishermen and farmers, and also the millions people that are in contact with this water in their daily life. Jakarta, the Capital of Indonesia, meets the needs of 80% of its drinking water supply from the Citarum.
(Ashov Birry, Greenpeace)
http://www.greenpeace.org/seasia/id/campaigns/toxics/Polluting-Paradise/
We used to call it 'Parahyangan' or the place where the Gods and Goddesses resided. The river that passes through it stretches 270 km from the Wayang Mountain to the Java Sea, giving life along its course.
We call it the Citarum River. Ci and Tarum, "Ci" is water, and "Tarum" or indigo is a plant of the pea family that was widely cultivated over a century ago as a source of dark blue dye. It is also linked to the 'Tarumanagara' Kingdom, one of the country's oldest Kingdoms, once victorious on the outskirts of the Citarum River. Today, millions of people depend on the river and surrounding area for agricultural and domestic use.
Today, the Citarum River has the reputation of being one of the dirtiest rivers in the world. It looks like a gigantic sewer. The water is tainted by toxic industrial waste, has a terrible odor and is filled with garbage.
The visible problem of garbage and untreated domestic wastewater in the Citarum is severe. But to make matters worse, local factories are pumping wastewater containing toxic and hormone-disrupting chemicals directly into the water supply. The wastewater is sometimes multi-coloured, sometimes invisible. The textile sector is a major source of this pollution, especially in the Upper Citarum where 68% of the factories produce textiles, and where the PT Gistex facility is located.
The wastewater discharged from this facility provides a clear example of the type of hazardous chemicals being discharged every day into the Citarum River -- affecting the local ecosystem and the livelihoods of millions of people.
The testing results reveal a real cocktail of hazardous chemicals including nonylphenol (NP), antimony and tributylphosphate being pumped in the Citarum. Many of these chemicals are toxic, while some have hormone-disrupting and highly persistent properties. The investigations also revealed wastewater from one of the smaller outfalls to be extremely alkaline or 'caustic' (pH 14) indicating that this wastewater had not received even the most basic treatment before discharge and a direct contact could burn the human skin.
There is no question that this type of pollution affects the livelihoods of local communities, fishermen and farmers, and also the millions people that are in contact with this water in their daily life. Jakarta, the Capital of Indonesia, meets the needs of 80% of its drinking water supply from the Citarum.
(Ashov Birry, Greenpeace)
http://www.greenpeace.org/seasia/id/campaigns/toxics/Polluting-Paradise/
