Newmont Minahasa demands clarification of Walhi's blood test
Friday, February 9 2001 - 04:30 AM WIB
Newmont Minahasa Raya, a gold operator based in North Sulawesi, has demanded the environmental organization Walhi to further clarify its report that blood of some 20 residents living near the company's dumping ground at the Buyat Bay had been contaminated with mercury.
The mining company said that the clarification was necessary to determine the validity of the report, which has caused uncertainty and fears among residents living near the Buyat Bay and Rotatok sub-district, located near its mining operation in Minahasa, North Sulawesi.
"As almost 80 percent of the residents in the two areas are working for Newmont, we feel obliged to know details of the report," Newmont said in his letter addressed to the director of Walhi, Emmy Hafild.
In its report titled from Minamata to Minahasa, Walhi said that the blood of 20 people who had been taken as respondents in its survey have been contaminated with mercury. But the report did not provide details of information related to the method of the survey and the reason why they used the blood as the target.
According to Walhi, the blood of the respondents was tested in a laboratory based in the United States.
But Newmont said that based on the study of the local experts, the report issued by Newmont related to the blood contamination was not based on a scientific procedure.
In its letter, Newmont also questioned why Walhi used the blood as the target of its survey. According to Newmont, the blood is not the right medium to determine the level of mercury or arsenic content in the human body.
Newmont also asked Walhi to explain the reference range of the mercury level, which had contaminated the respondent's blood. Newmont said that in a normal health survey, mentioning the reference range is necessary in order to know whether they have exceeded or still below the tolerable level set by the World Health Organization (WHO).
The mining company also demanded Newmont to explain the sampling process of the blood, their delivery to a Jakarta-based laboratory before being sent to the United States, and the condition and requirement given to respondents before their blood being taken for the survey.(*)