Unocal denies treatment plant breaks down

American oil and gas company Unocal Indonesia denied the allegation that its water treatment plant in Tanjung Santan, East Kalimantan had broken down, causing pollution to the nearby area, Suara Kaltim reported.

Company spokesman Syamsulistio said the allegation by the Mining Advocacy Network (Jatam) non governmental organization that the plant had broken down was a mere lie.

Syamsulitio said he suspected the NGO spread the rumor to discredit Unocal.

"The accusation is completely untrue. We suspect the untrue rumor has been spread with the main purpose of discrediting Unocal," Syamsulistio said.

He said Unocal had immediately inspected all its facilities in the area on Friday to see if any of them had been damaged by the flood that occurred after a heavy rain. The company also checked the impact of the flood on the area's residents.

He admitted that there were lube spill in the area, but he said the spill flowed out of the company's oil containers, rather than the water treatment plant.

He said the company together with the community leaders and the local police had checked the source of the lube spill.

He said Unocal was very concerned with the difficulties experienced by the local people, warning the NGO not to aggravate the public's sufferings by spreading lies. (*)