Arsenic Contamination in Indonesia

Arsenic is one of the harmful substances that pose an adverse risk to human health. It is found naturally and is widely distributed in the Earth’s crust in the form of inorganic and organic compounds; and therefore, it can be detected in water, soil, and air. Indonesia being one of the biggest mining nations in the world contributes significantly to the problem of arsenic contamination. Arsenic concentration in submarine mine tailings deposited in Buyat Bay, North Sulawesi, was 1.54 μg/L and 3.13 mg/kg wet weight, in bottom seawater and fish tissue, respectively. In another study, the concentration of arsenic in fish tissues obtained from a market in Ratatotok Sub-district and Manado City, North Sulawesi was 1.76 and 2.12 mg/kg wet weight, respectively. In 2014, arsenic was detected in foodstuff samples collected from the residents living near Gunung Pongkor, a gold mining area, at concentration of 2.27 mg/kg, 1.66 mg/kg, 2.71 mg/kg, 1.41 mg/kg, 2.71 mg/kg, in rice/grain, vegetable, cassava, banana, fish, respectively. Arsenic is also released from rock-water interactions in aquifer systems resulting in the deterioration of groundwater quality. Arsenic was also detected in coastal aquifers from big cities in North Coastal of Java, namely Jakarta, Semarang and Surabaya at concentrations of 15.47 ± 18.79, 1.25 ± 2.05 and 0.59 ± 0.26 μg/L, respectively. A study of arsenic concentration in foodstuff samples collected from Jakarta has been conducted. The highest concentration of arsenic was detected in fish and fish products (452.51 ng/g fresh weight of sample), followed by steamed white rice (85.53 ng/g fw), common food ready to be served (80.95 ng/g fw), home-made porridges (79.18 ng/g fw), while the concentration of arsenic in tap water (PDAM) was 0.72 ng/L. According to the above studies, arsenic is found in several cities in Indonesia. Hence, regular monitoring of arsenic in food stuffs or environmental samples in Indonesia is necessary to protect human health as well as to prevent global contamination of arsenic.