September 7 | Jakarta: Pertamina, the government-owned oil company in Indonesia, ceased adding lead in gasoline since 1 July 2006. This was confirmed by Arman Siswandi, a senior officer of Pertamina, in a meeting at the Pertamina office in Jakarta on 5 September 2006 with Ridwan Tamin of the Indonesia Ministry of Environment, Ahmad Safrudin of the KPBB, Cornie Huizenga and Glynda Bathan of the Clean Air Initiative for Asian Cities. While no lead has been added during the production of gasoline it will take a number of months before all old stocks of leaded gasoline will be distributed and the pipelines in different parts of the country will be washed out.

The phase out of lead in Indonesia is the result of 9 years of advocacy by stakeholders led by Ahmad Safrudin (better known as 'Puput'), Coordinator of KPBB's Joint Committee for Leaded Gasoline Phase Out. Support from organizations such as the US Environmental Protection Agency which assisted in setting up the Indonesian Lead Information Center (www.indonesian-lic.org), have greatly helped in achieving the lead phase out from gasoline in Indonesia. Credit also goes to all the other organizations which have raised their voice in formal and informal meetings.

This news on the end of the production of leaded gasoline in indonesia comes in the same week that a report on the 2006 fuel monitoring survey of gasoline and diesel fuel from gas stations in 20 cities in Indonesia concluded that lead levels in gasoline in Indonesia had already fallen significantly over the last 12 months. The fuel quality monitoring, jointy undertaken by the Indonesia Ministry of Environment and KPBB from May to August 2006, was released at a well-attended event in Jakarta on wednesday. Results of the 2006 survey show that the average lead content in gasoline is 0.038 grams per liter. Compared to the 2005 average lead level of 0.133 grams per liter, lead levels in gasoline in 2006 have been reduced by 71.43%. Rachmat Witoelar, the State Minister of Environment; senior level officers from the ministries of energy, transport, industry, planning, and finance; Pertamina; city representatives; and civil society led by KPBB, were present at the launch of the 2006 fuel monitoring report. Read the fact sheet on the monitoring study.

The Ministry of Environment, Province of Yogyakarta, City of Yogyakarta and the CAI-Asia will be organizing the Better Air Quality 2006 workshop in Yogyakarta on 13-15 December 2006. As part of preparations leading to BAQ 2006, the BAQ Secretariat has consistently conveyed the message that the continued use of lead in gasoline in Indonesia would be an important issue that BAQ participants would raise during the workshop. The BAQ 2006 Organizing Committee is delighted that the Indonesian population will be now be able to enjoy lead free gasoline, like the overwhelming majority of the rest of the world population. To celebrate the phase out of lead from gasoline, a 'lead-free' party is being planned as one of the social events of BAQ 2006.

Cornie Huizenga
Head of Secretariat
Clean Air Initiative for Asian Cities (CAI-Asia)
www.cleanairnet.org/caiasia
chuizenga@adb.org