TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - A member of the community caring for landfills, Wahyu Dharmawan, said his team is anxious about the potential of an explosion in the Sarimukti landfill after a fire broke out amid the garbage piles. He mentioned that the 50-meter-deep piles of garbage contain methane gas emitted by anaerobic bacteria that could explode if triggered by fire.

Previously, a similar case of explosion occurred in the Leuwigajah landfill in 2005. "If the shroud opens or a gap is created that allows oxygen to enter, similar [explosion] to the Leuwigajah landfill situation is likelier to happen," he said in the Indonesian Forum for Environment office in Bandung on Tuesday, August 29, 2023.

According to a study, Sarimukti landfill applies an open dumping system instead of a sanitary or controlled landfill. "We have difficulty seeing an adequate amount of soil used to bury the garbage," Wahyu said.

Sarimukti landfill caught fire on August 19, 2023, and continues to rage. Wahyu believed that the burning waste is in its first and second phases. "Meaning, the methane gas and hydrocarbon [produced by the organic waste] causing the piles of garbage to catch fire," he said. The methane gas contained in the pile may be a ticking time bomb, he added.

As for the cause of the fire, the team questioned the alibi that it was prompted by cigarette butts. The team demanded an investigation since the fire affected the health of the residents.

The health facility in Cipatat recorded 28 people visiting the medical facility in Sarimukti village on Tuesday, August 29, 2023, from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Around 20 people among them suffer from acute respiratory infection or ISPA. 

"It is sensible to suspect that the smoke caused by the waste burning [in landfill] contains hazardous and toxic materials," Wahyu remarked.

ANWAR SISWADI

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