Lapindo's hot mud will be dumped into the sea

Lapindo Brantas has decided to dump the hot mud from its leaked Banjar Panji 1 well in its exploration field in Porong, Sidoarjo, East Java into the sea as the last possible solution to cope with the massive mud flows which already cover about hundreds of hectares. Media Indonesia reported Friday.

Lily Pudjiastuti, an environment consultant from Surabaya Institute of Technology (ITS), said in Surabaya Wednesday that the mud flows would be channeled into a water treatment plant before being dumped into the sea.

"The water treatment and other facilities have been ready for installation, and we hope they could be operated within one week from now," she said, adding that the company would install a 50-cm diameter pipes on 14-km pipeline network which would connect the company's field and the Madura Strait.

According to Lily, the pipeline would stick out about four kilometers from the beach to ensure that the processed water from the water treatment plant would not affect the area near the beach. (*)