IPOH, Sept 27 — The Perak Department of Environment (DoE) today has taken water samples from the canal in Kampung Parit Mentara 3, Bagan Serai following the acetone chemical spill on Wednesday.
Its director, Norazizi Adinan said the water samples taken this morning were sent to the Chemistry Department for analysis and the results would be made known soon.
“So far, the sluice gates allowing water in and out of the 300-metre long canal, believed to be contaminated has been closed since the incident. The trailer company involved will appoint a licensed contractor along with the DoE to do the job of pumping out the water.
“The contaminated water will be disposed of at premises licensed by the DoE. The pumping and disposal works will be monitored from time to time,” he said when contacted by Bernama here, today.
When asked if it was safe for residents to return to their homes, Norazizi said the matter would be notified by the relevant authorities.
Meanwhile, Perak Fire and Rescue Department operation assistant director Mohamad Yunus Abu said acetone spills did not cause serious pollution.
Instead, he said it was more of a flammable substance and measures had been taken to reduce the risk of sparking a fire including diluting the chemical substance with water.
“Detection tests using three different types of hazardous chemical detectors, namely litmus paper, GFG 450 and Gasmed did not indicate the presence of any hazardous substances in the air,” he said
Meanwhile, police have not allowed the four families, who were ordered to evacuate their homes which were within 100 metres of the acetone spill, to go back to their respective homes.
Kerian district police chief Supt Omar Bakhtiar Yaacob said the directive was to ensure that the area in Kampung Parit Mentara 3 affected by the incident was completely safe to avoid any untoward incidents.
The cleanup or decontamination of the surrounding areas by the responsible parties including DoE had been 90 per cent completed, he said when contacted here today.
On Wednesday a tanker carrying more than 20,00 litres of acetone travelling from Klang, Selangor to Penang skidded and overturned into a canal in the village at about 5 am. The vehicle was only removed at 10.30pm last night before being towed away this morning.
Acetone is a colourless chemical liquid, highly flammable and is often used as a solvent in paint and nail polish.
Meanwhile, Kampung Parit Mentara 3 Community Management Council chairman Halmi Omar said the incident had made it difficult for residents to use the road involved as it was the main route to school and work.
A Bernama check at the Disaster Relief Centre opened by the Social Welfare Department at Surau Ar-Rahman found that there were no evacuees at the centre as they had opted to stay at relatives’ homes.
Only the police and Civil Defence personnel were still on duty at the site of the incident, while firefighters had ceased operations at 11.30pm last night. — Bernama
