Singapore expands crackdown on Indonesian companies linked to haze
The notices require firefighting, a halt to burning and action plans as Singapore uses the Transboundary Haze Pollution Act to target suspected polluters.
- The National Environment Agency issued preventive notices to 10 Indonesian companies with concessions in Sumatra and Kalimantan on October 16 and 19, requiring them to deploy firefighters and submit action plans after smoke from their lands reached Singapore.
- Prolonged dry conditions exacerbated by El Niño have fueled widespread forest fires across Indonesia, creating the longest continuous stretch of unhealthy air quality Singapore has endured since the 2015 haze crisis.
- Acting Manpower Minister Jasmin Lau emphasized that employers must protect workers by monitoring hourly PM2.5 readings and providing N95 masks when outdoor work reaches unhealthy pollution levels.
- Coordinating Minister for National Security K. Shanmugam warned that Singapore will use 'every legal and regulatory lever' to hold companies accountable, including targeting corporate financing and investor standing under the Transboundary Haze Pollution Act.
- The government expects air quality to improve during the inter-monsoon period in about three to four weeks, while authorities continue investigating corporate links to the fires to ensure long-term accountability.
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52 Articles
'They may think that they can escape scrutiny': Singapore cracks down on Indonesian companies spreading 'entirely preventable' smog across the border
This brings to 10 the number of Indonesian companies that Singapore is targeting under its Transboundary Haze Pollution Act.
The city-state has stepped up measures to combat fires, which have been going on for months, and has promised to take legal action against the companies responsible for the fires, which have placed air quality in the region among the worst in the world. Air pollution has forced the closure of schools in several countries of the region and has led to an increase in respiratory problems among the population. "Our research suggests that some of the…
Rare 'normal' PM2.5 in 3 regions on Oct 18; PSI at season-high 230 in western Singapore
No, this photo of Punggol isn't one taken on better days. Clear skies and good air quality have been in short supply since Oct 5, when Singapore started recording 24-hour Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) readings in the unhealthy range. Singapore calculates its PSI based on six pollutant particulate matter — PM10 and PM2.5, sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, ozone and carbon...
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