PASIR GUDANG, June 25 — The Department of Environment (DoE) has identified a waste processing factory that has been ordered to dispose of its toxic waste immediately, said Johor Health, Culture and Heritage Committee chairman Mohd Khuzzan Abu Bakar.
He said the factory was one out of 30 high-risk premises inspected by DoE.
“We are still investigating if the toxic waste in the particular premise was linked to the second air pollution incident in Pasir Gudang,” said Khuzzan, referring to the authorities.
He said this during a media conference held at the operations control centre at the Pasir Gudang Municipal Council in Menara Aqaba here.
Khuzzan said the authorities have taken samples from the factories that the DoE visited for inspection.
“We will provide further information once we obtain the full results,” he said, declining to reveal the type of industries that the factories are involved in.
Khuzzan said as of today, DoE, together with the Department of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH) and the Pasir Gudang Municipal Council (MPPG), will be carrying out an integrated operation to check on other premises in Pasir Gudang.
He said the operation involves the inspection 250 other premises to make sure that they adhered to the standard operating procedures set by the government.
“To avoid a repeat of another incident, strict action will be taken against industries that did not adhere to the standard operating procedures,” said Khuzzan.
As a precautionary measure, Khuzzan said police have also been instructed to closely monitor the movement of toxic waste in and out of Pasir Gudang.
“Police have set-up two roadblocks here since June 24, where they are tasked with checking outgoing heavy vehicles.
“This is to make sure that no toxic waste is smuggled out of Pasir Gudang that can impact the ongoing investigations,” he said.
He also said that as of 12pm today, there were no new cases of victims suffering from air poisoning.
Earlier today, Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad vowed that those behind the latest air pollution episode in Pasir Gudang will face the full brunt of the law after dozens, mostly students, fell ill from inhaling the air there.
He labelled the incident as unfortunate, saying it should not have happened after a similar incident at Sungai Kim Kim in March.
Yesterday, Johor Mentri Besar Datuk Dr Sahruddin Jamal was reported saying that the authorities are focusing on 30 chemical factories that may have caused the air pollution in Pasir Gudang.
