Labs examine river water following E. Kalimantan blowout incident

The East Kalimantan provincial administration has assigned three independent laboratories to examine the water of River Mahakam so as to confirm whether it had been polluted following the gas blowout at one of TotalFinaElf?s rigs, Suara Pembaruan daily quoted a local government official as saying on Tuesday.

Kaspoel Basran, head of provincial environmental watchdog Bapedalda, said the laboratories had examined the Mahakam River water but they had yet to reveal the results of their work. They are owned by Environment Research Center (PPLH) of Samarinda?s Mulawarman state university, Core Lab and Sucofindo.

Earlier Bapedalda and other related agencies had undertaken field observation at Mahakam in Kutai Regency after the incident. ?In plain view, no organic element and particle had damaged and destroyed water biota at the river, including the shrimp farms owned by the local people,? Basran said.

On March 1, gas blowout occurred at an oil rig operated by French oil and gas giant TotalFinaElf in Mahakam Delta. Independent environmental watchdog Jatam claimed that the incident had damaged nearly 600 hectares of shrimp farms owned by 59 villagers.

East Kalimantan?s Jatam coordinator M Ramli said oil from the blowing out rig would eventually form a new layer on the surface of River Mahakam, which would make it impossible for sunrays to penetrate it. In such condition shrimps and other species could not survive in the river, Ramli argued.

Ramli urged TotalFinaElf to take responsibility for the environmental damages and improve its environmental protection systems.

TotalFinaElf however had repeatedly denied the pollution allegations. (*)