TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Residents of Ciptomulyo village in Malang city complained about the waste of leather tanning factory that contaminates their water wells. The residents claimed that the water from their wells was spreading stinking odor and becoming turbid, making it inedible. Some residents were suffering of acute respiratory infections because of it. "Locals are having pulmonary cancer," said one of the residents, Bachroni on Friday, January 2014.
Seventy percent of the residents are getting their drinking water supply from wells. They accused the nearby PT Usaha Loka and PT Kasin for having improper waste treatment installations. The contamination has been reported several times to the Malang City Administration and Legislative Council but there were no further actions up to today. The residents are threatening to close down the waste discharge pipes that flows the waste into the river if their complaints continue to be ignored.
The Head of Malang Environmental Agency, Nuzul Nurcahyo has scheduled a water quality test in 30 spots in the residents' wells. "Let's just wait for laboratory results," he said. However, the initial water test quality has been done in several spots by the East Java Province Environmental Health Agency.
The Director of PT Kasin, Paul Zakaria, said that his side has treated their waste before discharging it into the river. He asserted that the waste has been meeting the quality standard requirements. "The waste is discharged once a week," he said.
EKO WIDIANTO
