kopitubruk

Indonesia section of the report "TRUE COST OF COAL"

publication date: November 26, 2008

Full report: http://www.greenpeace.org/international/Global/international/planet-2/report/2008/11/true-cost-of-coal.pdf

In 2006, the bustling industrial town of Cilacap was filled with optimism. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono had announced the opening of a new coalfired power plant in the area. But despite the initial hope for local economic growth, the real cost to the Southeast Java town soon became shockingly clear.

The original aim of building the power plant was to encourage local economic growth. In turn, this would help expand Cilacap’s industrial area to around 2,000 hectares – more than ten times its former size.64 At the beginning of the project, the government watched proudly. The plant was delivering 600 megawatts of electricity to the Java- Bali electricity grid. Many new jobs had been created, causing a booming trade in building materials. Other locals earned money by renting their houses to construction engineers. Soon the reality hit home – and it all started with a black cloud of dust that covered the local town.

Alia is four and lives with her parents and two older siblings. An abandoned rice field is the only thing separating their home from the coal-fired power plant, 300 metres away. In the early days of the power plant being opened, Alia played happily with her friends outside her house. The only small sign of danger was the persistent coughing that all the children began to pick up.

It was an early sign of something far more serious: seven months ago, Alia was diagnosed with bronchitis. Her father has been affected, too. He worked at the plant for over a year, unloading the coal trucks without a breathing mask, inhaling the soot and fumes. Now he has lung spots.
Another local girl who suffers is three-year-old Safira. She’s small for her age and has had coughs and colds at least twice a month since she was born. Her mother, Rohimah, can’t afford to take her to the doctor. The only medication Safira gets is over-the-counter fever tablets and cough syrup.

Purwanto, a local doctor, told us: “A lack of nutrition caused many of the mothers in the area to be unable to nurse their children, reducing their babies’ resistance to infections. I have seen a shift to more cases of respiratory infections in children than adults in the area since the plant started operating.” 65 Purwanto is all too familiar with the suffering of children caused by the power station. He was forced to leave his own home in a nearby complex after two of his children developed bronchitis.

Air pollution

Unlike Purwanto, Imam Sarjono, a 59-year-old pensioner, chose to stay in his home. He worked hard to buy it for his retirement, after a long career as a warden in a high security prison. When he bought it, he was one of 200 buyers in the complex, all attracted by the prime location, fresh air, and distance from the hustle and bustle of the city centre.

Now, black soot covers Sarjono’s white orchids and the jasmine he planted in front of his house. Trees around the area have layers of black dust on their leaves. Dozens of people have been driven away by the coal dust and constant humming coming from the plant.

“We pay double our water bill to clean our houses. Dust keeps us sweeping the floors many times a day,” Sarjono tells us. “Many of my neighbours have moved away. Who can stand living like this?”

Job losses

The pollution from the plant has had a devastating effect on the ability of many to make a living from the land. About 12 hectares of productive rice fields in two villages were effectively ruined after the plant flooded them with a mixture of hot salt water and effluent from the plant. This incident forced one farmer, Noto, and his son off their land. Now, to earn money, they dig sand and transport it back to his village in a small boat. With a 10-hour day starting at 6 a.m. it’s backbreaking work just to fill a small truck. Noto’s tiny earnings are never more than about 80,000 rupiah a day, about US$8.67 Along with many of his neighbours, losing his rice field meant Noto had no choice. In fact, Noto and his son are among the lucky ones – many of his neighbours have no work at all.

A local uprising

The illnesses, pollution and deterioration in quality of life have taken their toll on the locals living near the power station. One day at dawn, in late 2005, the neighbourhood was woken by a loud noise from the plant. Residents said it sounded like a plane taking off nearby.

“The noise kept coming on and off every five minutes. We couldn’t even hear ourselves talking. Later we found out it was the plant cleaning their pipes,” said Sugriyatno, who also lives in the complex.68 The incident drove the people of the housing complex, and three surrounding villages, to gather together and protest about the many problems by the plant. They formed a committee so they could take their complaints to the local government and the power plant.

Sugriyatno, who led the effort, said: “We are negotiating compensation for the damage in the three villages and Griya Kencana Permai complex caused by the plant’s operation. There has been a lot of damage already. However, we are still hopeful that a positive solution will come out of this.” 69He also pointed out that the power plant’s owners had never showed sympathy or offered support to the neighbourhood they destroyed. The locals won’t back down; but neither, it seems, will the polluters.