Riau govt distributes 5,000 gas maskers to residents
Still waiting some more maskers from Caltex
Saturday, March 11 2000 - 04:00 AM WIB
A special emergency center estbalished by the provincial administration of Riau to protect smog arising from forest fires in some places in Sumatra have distributed about 5,000 gas maskers to the local residents.
The center is still waiting for some more maskers from PT Caltex Pacific Indonesia to protect the residents as the quality of the air in the province is worsening.
The mayor of Pekanbaru, the provincial capital of Riau province, said that he hoped Caltex would soon come with their maskers to anticipate a further worsening of the air quality.
The Environmental Impact Management Agency reported early this week that at least 515 hot spots had been detected across Riau's regencies of Kampar and Bengkalis.
Visibility was estimated at about 500 meters, while the pollution index was reportedly at the hazardous level of 313. Normal level is below 50. (*)