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Viewing cable 08SURABAYA47, EAST JAVA MUDFLOW UPDATE: FLAMMABLE GAS BUILDUP CAUSES

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Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
08SURABAYA47 2008-04-14 09:04 2011-08-24 01:00 UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY Consulate Surabaya
VZCZCXRO6768
RR RUEHCHI RUEHCN RUEHDT RUEHHM
DE RUEHJS #0047 1050904
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 140904Z APR 08
FM AMCONSUL SURABAYA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0193
INFO RUEHZS/ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA 0100
RUEHCAA/GEOLOGICAL SURVEY DEPT OF INTERIOR WASHINGTON DC
RUEHJA/AMEMBASSY JAKARTA 0180
RUEHKL/AMEMBASSY KUALA LUMPUR 0007
RUEHGP/AMEMBASSY SINGAPORE 0004
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 0043
RUEHC/USAID WASHDC
RUEHWL/AMEMBASSY WELLINGTON 0098
RUEHJS/AMCONSUL SURABAYA 0198
UNCLAS SURABAYA 000047 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EAP/MTS, AND EB/ESC/IEC 
DEPT FOR DS/IP/EAP 
DOE FOR CUTLER/PI-32 AND NAKANO/PI-42 
COMMERCE FOR USDOC 4430 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON EINV EPET ELAB ENRG PGOV ASEC ID
SUBJECT: EAST JAVA MUDFLOW UPDATE: FLAMMABLE GAS BUILDUP CAUSES 
ILLNESS, POTENTIAL FOR EXPLOSION THREATENS HOMES 
 
REF: SURABAYA 40 (and previous) 
 
This message is sensitive but unclassified.  Please protect 
accordingly. 
 
1.  (U)  Summary.  Five residents of a village near the Sidoarjo 
mudflow fell unconscious after exposure to high concentrations 
of gas in their neighborhood.  Sidoarjo Mud Management Agency 
(BPLS) spokesperson Ahmad Zulkarnain confirmed to the local 
press that a buildup of methane and hydrogen sulfide gas inside 
West Siring's sewers was the culprit.  BPLS has installed pipes 
to vent the gas and prevent further buildup.  A Sidoarjo city 
official has asked the central government to fund evacuation of 
these villages.  This episode is the latest indicator that side 
effects of the mudflow disaster -- continued subsidence, geysers 
and flammable gases -- could increasingly plague local 
communities previously undamaged by the mudflow.  End Summary 
 
2.  (U)  On April 10, five residents of West Siring village fell 
unconscious and dozens more suffered from headaches, coughs, and 
nausea, reportedly from gas leaks.  A BPLS team launched an 
investigation to identify the source of the gas.  The 400 meter 
sewer running the length of the Siring-Porong Road has 
reportedly been venting flammable gas since the second week of 
April, according to local media.  (Note: Sewers in many 
Indonesian cities are concrete-lined channels covered with 
moveable concrete slabs to allow access for cleaning).  BPLS 
detected both methane and hydrogen sulfide gas from two gas 
sources near the sewer.  According to the BPLS Gas Monitoring 
Team (PT Fergaco), the concentration of gas had reached 100% due 
to its confinement in the enclosed sewer.  BPLS spokesman 
Zulkarnain advised residents not to throw lighted cigarettes or 
matches into the sewer. 
 
3. (U) Residents initially prevented the BPLS team from venting 
the gas from the sewer along the Siring-Porong Street for fear 
the gas would be more dangerous once released.  After a full day 
of resistance by villagers, BPLS was finally permitted to open 
the sewers on April 11.  That same day, Saiful Illah, the Deputy 
Regent of Sidoarjo, and Ario Wijanarko, a Parliamentarian 
representing the National Awakening Party, visited the site and 
asked the central government to fund evacuation of West Siring's 
residents since the Sidoarjo government did not have an adequate 
budget for this purpose. 
 
4.  (SBU)  BPLS Operations Engineer Mr. Handoko Teguh told 
Congen Surabaya that gas emerging from beneath a single factory 
(PT. Alam Jaya) was the source of high gas concentrations in the 
sewer.  BPLS had previously installed a pipe at the factory to 
deal with a geyser that had erupted there.  As a result, gas 
mixed with the piped waste-water is likely the source of the gas 
build-up as the pipe empties into the West Siring sewer. 
Handoko added that these concentrations of gas are highly 
flammable. BPLS has removed portions of the sewer's concrete 
slab coverings and installed vertical pipes to vent the gas 
above ground level.  Gas concentrations in the 400 meters of 
affected sewer have been reduced, but remain dangerous to local 
residents.  Other evidence of the continually changing 
conditions under West Siring village emerged in early April when 
several residents complained that the floors of their homes were 
so warm they had to continually cool them with water, according 
to local media. 
 
MCCLELLAND