Jakarta, IO – GDC Consulting and Tambuhak Sinta Foundation (YTS) conducted a public awareness campaign on the dangers of mercury contamination on November 8 and 9 2023 respectively at SMPN 1 and SMAN 1 Parenggean in East Kotawaringin, Central Kalimantan. A total of 40 students attended this event at SMPN 1 and 42 students at SMAN 1.
GDC Consulting, an institution from South Korea, partnered with YTS in this campaign. This event is a follow-up of the activities carried out last year. At that time, GDC Consulting and YTS organized a workshop to train and educate health workers about the dangers of mercury pollution and conducted health checks in artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) communities in the People’s Mining Area (WPR) in Pudu Jaya, Bukit Harapan Village, East Kotawaringin Regency.
This program is part of GDC Consulting’s project “Remediation of Mercury Pollution in Indonesian Mining Areas” (2020-2024) funded by the Korea Institute for Advancement of Technology (KIAT), which works under the auspices of the Korean Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy MOTIE). This project is implemented by a consortium that consists of Korea Mine Rehabilitation and Mineral Resources, Byucksan Engineering and GDC Consulting.
The campaign at the two schools was fully supported by the principals.“This campaign on the effects of mercury is beneficial for the children so that they know its dangers and take care of the environment”, as said by Mulyadi, the headmaster of SMAN 1 Parenggean.
The event was also attended by the East Kotawaringin District Health Service and the head and health workers from the Parenggean Community Health Center. Some of the health workers involved in this activity participated in the campaign event last year where they learned about the health effects of mercury contamination and the way to detect it in a patient’s body.
To measure the effectiveness of the campaign, the students took tests before and after the presentation, which was delivered by Dr. Ratna Yuniarti, M. Kes. She hopes that after the activity, “information about the dangers of mercury will spread to other demographics of the Parenggean community, for example housewives.”
Around Parenggean District there are many ASGM sites which usually use mercury to separate the gold from the sediment. According to Dr. Ratna, mercury pollution is very dangerous for health, and can occur in the form of soil, water and air pollution. Jihwa Yi, a representative from GDC Consulting, asked the students of SMAN 1 whether anyone lived near ASGM sites or knew someone who lived near ASGM sites. Among them there were 10 students who raised their hands. “[They] will be the successors of the nation’s development. Environmental awareness, including the impact of mercury pollution, needs to be instilled, so that when they become regional leaders they can develop programs that promote environmental sustainability,” said Vovia Witni, YTS’ representative.
Furthermore, on November 10 in the Parenggean sub-district office auditorium, Tambuhak Sinta Foundation (YTS) and GDC Consulting, carried out a public awareness campaign event on the dangers of mercury contamination, especially from artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM). The 19 participants who attended were representatives from the villages of Bukit Harapan, Karya Bersama, Sehe, Pudu Jaya People’s Mining Area (WPR) and ASGM miners operating around Parenggean. To measure their understanding and concern about this issue, participants took tests before and after the presentation by Dr. Ratna Yuniarti, M. Kes. about the impact of mercury pollution.
In the question and answer session, several issues were raised. One participant asked when the miners will be provided a means to process gold without mercury. Vovia Witni, YTS’s program coordinator, responded by mentioning the presidential decree which prohibits mercury use by 2025. As of yet, there is no solution for mercury-free gold processing from the government, but they have been working with the Canadian and South Korean Government to find one.
Using cyanide to extract the gold is a possible solution, but it needs to follow safety and environmental standards. For now, the least that ASGM actors can do is to reduce the amount of mercury emissions from their activities. In the next session, YTS consultant Kulansi Konolius, introduced to them a way to process gold which reduces mercury emissions. He demonstrated that in two ways, using a retort and a water box condenser, which captures mercury vapor caused by burning mercury-gold amalgam. The participants actively observed the demonstration and asked many questions about its function and installation process.
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After the demonstration, the participants expressed their willingness to fully support the campaign next year with technical assistance. “I also want this program to be carried out continuously until the community can be independent and no longer use mercury,” said Mr. Siyono, Head of Parenggean District.
Seughyeok Lee from GDC Consulting added that they will develop the program next year which will be more practical and extensive so that it will meet their needs.
They also installed a billboard near Parenggean market with the message “Mercury Disaster Contaminates Breast Milk”, which will stay for three months. (Adinugroho Purbo)