Pollution created by Freeport's tailing spreading to more areas

Mining tailing produced by copper and gold mining giant PT Freeport Indonesia has polluted not only Ajkwa river banks but also along the southern coasts of Irian Jaya, according to the Indonesian Environmental Forum (Walhi).

Speaking at a public expose on the environmental destruction by Freepor's mining operation in IrianJaya, Walhi executive director Emmy Hafild said Freeport's tailing had polluted a total area of 35,820 hectares onshore and 84,158 hectares offshore, mostly in the estuaries of Mawati River in the eastern part of the southern coast of Irian Jaya and Kamoro River in the western part of the southern coast.

Emmy noted that the tailing pollution did not stop there, the pollution had even reached the Lorentz National Parks, through the Mawati and Otokwa rivers.

Emmy noted that such a huge acreage of polluted areas by Freeport was logical considering that the company disposed around 300,000 tons of waste per day.

The data on those acreage polluted by Freeport was obtained from the observation by the National Space and Aviation Institute using Thematic Mapper Landsat 7 TM.

Earlier Freeport reported that it had secured licenses from both the central government and the Irian Jaya administration to dump its mining tailing to a huge area of 230 square kilometers in Aijkwa.

The tailing would be floated from Freeport's concentrate plant in a higher altitude place through a river flowing from Aghawagon to Otomona and then to Aijkwa, where the tailing is settled in the dumping site.

Emmy noted that pollution along river banks was not caused by natural erosion but by the disposal of huge tailing, and therefore, she called on Freeport to stop disposing its tailing to rivers in Irian Jaya.

Emmy then called on the Environmental Impact Management Agency (Bapedal) to follow up Walhi's reports on environmental destruction in Irian Jaya by conducting an in-depth investigation into Freeport's tailing disposal.

Responding to Emmy's suggestion, Bapedal deputy chairman for legal affairs Masnellyarti Hilman promised that Bapedal would try to conduct a comprehensive study on the matter and the agency would seek financial assistance from independent parties to finance the study.

Masnellyarti also called on Freeport to conduct its own geo-hydrology study along the southern coast of Irian Jaya and improve its environmental management system. (*)