User:Clarob16/Palm oil production in Indonesia

Palm oil production in Indonesia is ,,,

Air pollution
Palm Oil production is a source of air pollution in Indonesia, mainly due to the use of slash-and-burn method to clear out forests for palm oil plantations. The areas that are typically being cleared out are rainforests, which have very carbon rich forest floors that are know as peatlands. The carbon-rich soil of the peatlands make them very flammable and when they burn they release a large amount of CO2 along with black carbon, an extremely dangerous type of particulate matter. Along with particulate matter, the smoke from the fires can release toxic gases that can spread over large areas and the fires are not easy to put out in remote areas, causing harm to both animal life and human populations. As a result of the large fires, a recurring phenomenon typically between July and October or during El Nino called the Southeast Asian Haze occurs. This is an event where air quality becomes extremely dangerous and can cause adverse health outcomes, have negative environmental, and economic impacts.

Mental and environmental health impacts and health rights violations
In Sumatra, there are a lot of fires from palm oil production and it has seen particulate pollution double over the past two decades with the rise of the palm oil industry. Particulate pollution has had an impact on life expectancy in the area with 0.7 predicted years life lost due to pollution two decades ago to a predicted 2.4 years of life lost now. Nitrogen Oxides (NOX) and Carbon monoxides (CO), chemicals that pose major health risks are also released during peatland fires. A study done in 2015 showed that in Central Kalimantan the particulate pollution and toxic gases released by peatland fires was so severe that 33% of deaths due to cardiovascular disease that year were attributed to the poor air quality. There are also health risks involved for those working in the palm oil industry, a study found that Indonesian palm oil workers were at an increased risk of developing musculoskeletal disorders, Infectious diseases such as malaria and worm infections due to extensive outdoor labor, stress and mental disorders, and pesticide and herbicide exposure. A company called Wilmar in Indonesia tests employees’ blood for chemical exposure to check for abnormalities. While workers will be told if they have “abnormal” blood, they however do not receive a copy of the results or any further explanation. Wilmar addressed the situation by moving employees that had blood abnormalities to different tasks, but never gave an explanation as to why this had been done. This has been found to cause heightened anxiety among plantation workers about their health.