Enviromental Impact Verification Team : 11 Village has been 100% cleaned of oil spill

Balikpapan - Environmental impact verification team that consisting of representatives of District/Municipal Governments, relevant Offices, Pertamina and community representatives continue to verify the oil spill recovery process in Balikpapan Bay to identify the remnants of oil spills in a number of affected areas.

Until Tuesday April 17, 2018, the verification results from 8 of 13 villages in Balikpapan City has been declared 100% cleaned from oil spill. While in North Penajam Paser District, 3 urban villages have been declared 100% cleaned from oil spill, and there are 17 urban villages that  need to be monitored related to the recovery process.

Kalimantan Regional Manager Communication & CSR PT Pertamina (Persero) Yudy Nugraha explains verificator tasked to verified visual aspect, including the sight of oil on waters and land, and the oil spill impact to the monitored location, and rate the level of cleanliness in monitored areas according to established criteria.

"The verificator team provides an assessment based on the percentage within 0 to 100%. Range 0 to 25% means there are a lot of oil spill on waters and shoreline and there are a lot of oil residue attached to the wave breaker walls and mangroves. Range 76 to 100% means no visible film and oil residue on waters and shoreline and no oil attached to the wave breaker walls and mangroves,” Yudy said.

Furthermore, Yudi added, parallel with visual verification, Pertamina and the government also conducted water quality post-cleaning test. This was done to ensure whether the water has been polluted or not in certain area, determine the areas that still need to be clean, and identify equipment needed for the recovery process.

"The verification team that has worked from April 10, will keep working to realize the final goal of this reovery activity which is to reach 100% cleanliness level. After the revocery process completed, the cleanliness level will be verified again to ensure that the target has been reached,” said Yudi.