Victims of toxic mud make market new home

A boy was sleeping with only a thin green carpet to protect him from the cold floor, in a traditional market thousands of people from Sidoarjo now call home.

The residents of the regency in Porong district, East Java, have been forced off their home by hot mud flowing from a nearby gas well.

The boy's mother, Sujantini, 44, said her eight-year-old son, Muhammad Ubaid Chikditiro, was not feeling well. "He's been sick and dizzy, and has missed school for the past two days," she told The Jakarta Post on Friday.

Since the hot mud began flowing to four villages -- Siring, Reno Kenongo, Kedung Bendo and Jatirejo -- on May 29, residents have been forced to abandon their houses. More than 4,400 have taken shelter in the market while the rest are living in offices and mosques.

Thousands of people have squeezed into the 282 kiosks in the five-hectare market, with three families sharing a 24-square meter space. In the kiosk, a simple curtain separates each family from the others.

"Since there is not enough space, we didn't take all of our belongings, only important documents and valuables," said Sujantini, who has been living in the market since last week.

Although the market has enough facilities, including 15 open halls, a mosque and public kitchens, problems start early each day when the temporary residents rush to take baths.

With 109 bathrooms, including 22 permanent ones, the residents have to line up to bathe. Sujantini wakes up every morning at 3 to wash and prepare for her morning prayer. "Even at 3 a.m. people have line up, never mind later," said the mother of two.

Bathrooms here are far from standard. Each is set up in a parking space, separated only by bamboo walls and equipped with a bucket and a toilet.

In the morning, Sidoarjo regency administration staff arrive to distribute a breakfast of rice along with bottled water. The displaced villagers are also given a regular lunch and dinner.

At nighttime, the market becomes lively, as most residents settle in to watch the World Cup on 26 television sets scattered throughout the market.

"It's true that everything is prepared here, but if we could choose, we'd rather go back home," Sujantini said.

As the poisonous hot mud continues flowing from the drilling site belonging to PT Lapindo Brantas Inc., many residents have started to get sick. More than 130 people had been hospitalized in recent weeks.

According to the Sidoarjo Health Office, more than 980 residents were suffering from breathing problems and at least 170 were experiencing stiffness.

"More than 170 people are experiencing nausea and headaches," said Hinu Tri Sulistyowati, coordinator of a field hospital.

She said in addition to these three health problems, more than 120 people have started suffering from diarrhea, which she blamed on poor sanitation and poor bathroom facilities.

"If we want to keep the residents healthy, there should be more bathrooms since the number of people keeps increasing," she said.

Mudflow Case In East Java

Angry residents block turnpike over mud flood

Monday, June 12, 2006
ID Nugroho, The Jakarta Post, Surabaya

Hundreds of angry residents of Siring village in East Java blocked the Surabaya-Gempol toll road Sunday to display their unhappiness with hot mud flowing from a PT Lapindo Brantas gas exploration well.

Protesters in the village in Sidoarjo regency blocked the road by directing the stream of mud onto it.

The residents's anger was sparked by the discovery that a nearby drainage system was unable to accommodate the increasing quantities of mud. Over the last three weeks, the hot mud has inundated 25 hectares of land, including rice fields, factory compounds and residential sites.

"If the mud is not directed into the toll road, it will further flood our residential areas, thereby further damaging our lives," said Kusnadi, one of the residents.

The villagers' anger got an unsympathetic response from police officers, who ordered them to leave the problem to authorities.

A scuffle broke out between residents and police. The villagers also lambasted Sidoarjo Regent Win Hendrarso, who was at the site.

The mud leak started on May 29, two days after a powerful earthquake struck Yogyakarta and surrounding areas.

The hot mud flow was initially small and was not considered dangerous. The output of mud grew, however, until about 5,000 cubic meters leaked from the well each day.

"Frankly, the Sidoarjo regental administration is not able to handle the problem due to difficulties in getting heavy machinery to curb it. The central government will have to lend a hand as soon as possible," Win said.

Meanwhile, a number of House members accompanied by executives of BP Migas and PT Lapindo went to the site on Sunday to view the latest conditions. The visit did not appear to result in a clear-cut solution, however, as the legislators seemed unprepared for what they saw. "We still have to coordinate and consolidate to see what we can do," said Dito Ganindito, one of the House members.

Dody Hidayat of BP Migas' operational division and Imam Agustin of PT Lapindo did not offer any solutions either. "We are still searching for what is causing the mud flow and how to resolve it," Dody said.

A group of experts from the United States and Singapore is scheduled to visit the location soon to help settle the problem.

-----------

Wild mud flows leave hundreds hurt, homeless

Tuesday, June 13, 2006
Indra Harsaputra and ID Nugroho, The Jakarta Post, Sidoarjo

More than 130 people are in hospital and hundreds more have fled their villages as millions of liters of thick, toxic mud continue to leak from a gas exploration well in East Java's Porong district.

The pollution from the well drilled by oil and gas firm PT Lapindo Brantas has forced the evacuation three nearby villages.

Villagers said the mud flows, which began on May 29, continued to intensify daily, and had already flooded about 25 hectares of land, including villages, rice paddies and an industrial complex. The mud has also forced the closure of the Surabaya-Gempol turnpike.

On Monday, around 200 residents from the three worst-affected villages of Jatirejo, Siring and Reno, took shelter in the Pasar Baru evacuation center. Others camped in school buildings, administration offices and local mosques.

"All residents from my neighborhood community unit have been forced to move away, although our residential site was not affected yesterday," Quamairotin, 23, a resident of Siring where the exploration well is located, said.

Many residents have become ill after inhaling sulfurous gasses produced by the mud and about 135 were in hospital, local officials said.

At the evacuation center, most villagers lay on simple mats. The Sidoarjo regency also provided them with a mobile community health unit.

Quanmairotin feared the evacuations would disrupt school examinations scheduled in the area Tuesday.

The mud flows also forced seven factories employing thousands of workers in the area to temporarily shut down.

"Since the mud began flowing from the drilling site, we have been forced to postpone deliveries of our furniture products. Many of our customers have complained about the delays," Dwi Cahyani, the director of rattan furniture company PT Victory Rattanindo, said Monday.

The firm, which employs 200 workers, exports most of its products to Britain.

PT Lapindo has not explained the cause of the mud. Company management have promised to invite geological experts from Canada and Singapore to study the problem.

Meanwhile a local geologist said the pollution was caused by a failure in the drilling operation, exacerbated by the impact of the powerful Yogyakarta earthquake on May 27.

Another analyst said the overflow was caused by cracks in the well, which had not been anticipated by PT Lapindo.

Speaking at a hearing with members of the East Java Legislative Council on Monday, PT Lapindo general manager Imam Agustino said the company would try to prevent the mud from inundating a wider area by drilling two new wells near the old one to accommodate the liquid.

"The construction of the new wells is only temporary, with the aim of containing the mud and stopping it from flowing to the surface. We made this decision after consulting the Alert Disaster Control & Able Engineering Well Control (agency) of Texas," he said.

The government has said the company must compensate people and businesses affected the ecological disaster.
----------------------

Sidoarjo mud protested by upset workers

Saturday, June 17, 2006
ID Nugroho and Indra Harsaputra, The Jakarta Post, Sidoarjo

Residents of the once-peaceful East Java town of Sidoarjo are becoming increasingly agitated about the ongoing flow of hot mud from a gas drilling well.

On Friday, some 200 workers from a nearby factory whose operation has been affected by the mudflow staged a protest outside the office of PT Lapindo Brantas Inc., the company that owns the well. They demanded compensation for lost wages.

Arriving on three trucks and dozens of motorcycles, the workers from snack producer CV. Inti Sari Pratama waved banners and posters with their demands all the way to Lapindo's office.

One of the workers, Mustafa Aji, said they were forced to protest because their future is uncertain. "Since the factory was closed two weeks ago, we haven't been getting paid. This is all because of Lapindo," he told The Jakarta Post.

The mudflow has affected at least 13 factories since it began late last month. It has also flooded hectares of paddy fields and inundated villagers' houses.

Mustafa said each worker usually receives Rp 20,000 (US$2) a day. "Who is going to pay us compensation? Our company is not willing to pay because the factory is closed," he said.

Lapindo's representatives, accompanied by officials from the Oil and Gas Executive Agency (BP Migas), met with 10 representatives of the protesting workers. They told the workers they would discuss the compensation with the factory's management. "They promised to resolve the matter next week," said Muhamad Hadi, one of the workers' representatives.

Lapindo's spokesman, Budi Santoso, said the company would try to find a mutually beneficial solution.

"We (Lapindo) also feel sorry for the workers. I'm just asking the workers to help deal with the mudflow problem. Many workers working on the mudflow feel afraid, threatened," said Budi, without elaborating.

The mudflow has also triggered a clash between residents from Balung Kenongo and Kedung Bendo villages. Residents from one village damaged a dam to block the mudflow, but the move caused the mud to stream into the other village. No casualties were reported in the incident. Police are now guarding the two villages.

Almost three weeks after the hot mudflow was first spotted, no detailed plan to resolve the problem has been announced.

"We can't predict the mud rushing out... all we can do is prevent it from spreading," Lapindo's safety, health and environment official, Agus Tanzil, told the Post Friday.

"No matter what experts say, the mudflow is happening because of a natural process and can't be mathematically predicted."

The company has constructed three ponds to accommodate around 480,000 cubic meters of mudflow. With an estimated 20,000 cubic meters of mud streaming out per day, the ponds would fill up in 24 days. The company has also transported mud to be dumped at a location approved by the local administration.

"Our target is to solve the mudflow problem in a month. We hope everyone will stay calm and not make any conflicting statements that can confuse people," Lapindo's general manager Imam Agustino said.

In Jakarta, the National Police spokesman, Brig. Gen. Anton Bachrul Alam, said Friday that mining and geological experts from Australia and Canada will assist Indonesian authorities in investigating the cause of the hot mud eruption.

He said the police assigned a special task force to Sidoarjo on Thursday to investigate the case.(04)
-------------------------
More mudflow victims suffer from breathing difficulties
Indra Harsaputra and ID Nugroho, The Jakarta Post, Sidoarjo

Medical workers report a jump in the number of villagers with respiratory problems near the gas well accident in Porong district, East Java, with the authorities still puzzled about stemming the uncontrolled toxic mudflow.

A total of 901 ailing villagers from Siring, Renokenongo and Jatirejo near Sidoarjo were treated Monday, up from 538 reported last week.

The head of the environment research center at Surabaya-based Airlangga University, Mukono, said the increase was due to the inhalation of poisonous hydrogen sulfide (H2S) gas from the mudflow. The gas gives off a putrid rotten-egg odor.

"Besides the H2S, the hot mud from the well also carries hydrocarbon gas, which if inhaled continuously could cause leukemia," he said.

Many residents also complain of other ailments, including fatigue, gastritis, diarrhea and hypertension, he added.

The coordinator of the hospitals in charge of handling mudflow victims, Hinu Tri Sulistyorini, feared the number of people left ill by the May 29 accident could be much higher.

Many villagers whose homes were inundated by the toxic mud have not sought medical help because they were afraid of leaving their belongings, Hinu added.

"Patients admitted here said many of their neighbors had not had their health checked."

A member of the House of Representatives urged the government Monday to establish an independent team to study the impact of the accident.

"We urgently need an independent team to investigate the real cause of the mudflow and create a solution on how to stop this catastrophe," said Sonny Keraf, a lawmaker from Commission VII whose jurisdiction includes energy, mining and the environment.

In a public forum on the incident, Sonny alleged the possibility of a "conspiracy" between the government, the oil and gas executive agency (BP Migas) and PT Lapindo Brantas, the owner of the gas drilling well, to cover up the actual details of the accident.

"BP Migas is not the right institution to head the independent team because there could be conflict of interest, and I don't think they could solve the problem."

He said the House would also establish a body to monitor the independent team.

"The party responsible, PT Lapindo Brantas, has not taken any honorable action because it put the blame on the Yogyakarta quake for causing the mudflow."

Chalid Muhammad of the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) said a lack of transparency, such as how to manage waste caused by the exploitation and exploration, created greater losses to the public and the environment.

"The source of the mud should be closed as soon as possible. Compensation to nearby communities should be provided and the individuals responsible should go through the legal process," he said.

"Lapindo stated that the Yogyakarta quake was the catalyst for the incident. However, scientists have found that a link between the natural disaster and the mudflow was almost impossible." (03)

Jember mudslide survivors still living in misery six months on

Mud stains are still visible on the ceiling of Ervina's house in Kemiri village, Jember regency, East Java. The damage to one of the walls of the house has yet to be repaired, though the pile of rubble has been cleared away. "You can still see the signs of the disaster, reminding us of the tragedy that occurred six months ago," Ervina told The Jakarta Post.

A wall of mud, carrying with it trees and boulders, rushed down the slopes of Mount Argopuro on Dec. 29, 2005, sweeping away houses in the districts of Rambi Puji, Panti and Sukorambi. According to a task force set up by the Jember regency
administration, 72 people died in the mudslide, most in Panti district. Thousands of others were displaced when their homes were destroyed.

Although six months have passed since the tragedy, signs of the mudslide are visible throughout the three districts, located about 210 kilometers from Surabaya. There are damaged buildings, large rocks strewn about and wrecked cars. Ervina remains traumatized by the events of that day. When the mudslide struck she and her parents were in their house, located next to Kemiri market, one of the worst-affected areas. Luckily, the family was able to seek refuge in a mosque 500 meters from their house.

"Not long after we fled, a deluge of water and mud struck our house and everything was destroyed," she recalled. Many bodies were found around their house, covered in mud. Ervina continues to stay with nearby relatives whenever it rains. Relief and reconstruction efforts have been hampered by a lack of information, including a detailed map of the area, population statistics and the total number of affected buildings and houses.

Six months later, the East Java provincial administration has yet to construct the new houses it promised survivors. According to reconstruction plans, the houses are to measure 36-square-meters. Only dozens of at least 200 houses promised by the government have been completed in Kemiri and Kaliputih villages, as well as in Gunung Pasang and Delima villages. Most of the houses are little more than frames, without roofs or walls.

The delay in reconstruction means many of those displaced by the mudslide are still living in makeshift tents and schools that have been turned into emergency shelters.
In a field near Kemiri village, which was virtually destroyed by the mudslide, survivors are living in 12 large tents donated by the Japanese government. Each tent is occupied by six families. The poor sanitary system and crowded living conditions
have increased the likelihood of disease.

At a shelter in Kaliputih village, one resident, Slamet, expressed hope the new houses would be completed soon. "My family and the other displaced people want to return to our normal lives," he said. Until that time, Slamet and the other survivors in Kaliputih will have to continue living together in one of the classrooms at the local elementary school. "How long do we have to live like this?" he asked. Another survivor, Suprapto, said a lack of building materials was holding up construction. "Building materials often arrive late."