Huge compost heap from Punggol Way site fouls mood of residents; contractor working to clear the air
Amresh Gunasingham & Ted Chen Straits Times 8 Oct 10;
THE stench was unbearable. It was so smelly some people could not sleep. Others felt nauseous and dizzy. Two weeks after it was reported that a stink had enveloped pockets of the Sengkang estate in the north-east, the smell still lingers.
Residents have complained in droves, and the National Environment Agency (NEA) is now taking further action.
It had earlier pinned the blame for the smell on a 200-tonne mound of rotting food and woodchips dumped at a construction site in Punggol Way.
The NEA served a nuisance order under the Environmental Public Health Act on the contractor - construction giant Koh Brothers - to clear the mound immediately. But this warning was not heeded, and now the agency says it will fine the contractor - as much as $10,000, said an NEA spokesman yesterday.
Mr David Tay, group public relations manager of Koh Brothers, said lorries have been deployed since last Friday to cart away the excess compost, a week after the original report.
The NEA spokesman said the stench could have spread while the compost was being excavated. 'Removal work is ongoing and the contractor has since engaged more lorries to increase the number of trips made to the incineration plants.'
But Mr Tay said the stink cannot be helped. He said the source of the smell is compost, which is needed as fertiliser to turf the land.
In January last year, Koh Brothers was awarded two contracts worth about $200 million by the Housing Board (HDB) to develop the area into housing estates.
Compost is needed to fertilise land being developed for the upcoming Punggol Waterfront project, the company said.
It is understood that a large amount of compost is needed as the site has been zoned an eco-precinct by the HDB, meaning the environment will be replete with more greenery. Mr Tay said sub-contractors employed by Koh Brothers may have 'overestimated' the amount of compost needed.
But he admitted the mound may not have been properly covered in the evenings. And it certainly has raised a stink among residents in the area.
Over the past two weeks, some 169 complaints have been lodged with the NEA, with 49 of them made yesterday.
Residents have also aired their gripes online. The community forum on Sengkang.com shows more than 100 postings about the odour.
Student Sufiyan Hassan, 15, of Compassvale Secondary in Sengkang, said his entire school compound stank yesterday morning for several hours.
'We couldn't concentrate on work, and all of us had to cover our noses with our shirts,' said the student, whose school is about 1km from the site. 'Have you ever been to Mandai Zoo? That's what it smelt like.'
Madam Charinee Wongkat, 25, who lives in Sengkang East Way, 1.7km from the construction site, said the smell was at its worst last week. 'It was very smelly and we couldn't sleep. It lasted the whole night,' said the housewife, who had to resort to closing her flat's windows.
Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC MP Charles Chong told The Straits Times he received complaints as recently as last week, though none yesterday.
He intends to gather feedback from residents at today's Meet the People session about the latest occurrence and survey the site personally.
Professor Phillip Eng, a consultant respiratory physician at Mount Elizabeth Medical Centre, said the odour was unlikely to be harmful as it would take a cumulative inhalation of toxics over an extended period to cause any harm.
Koh Brothers said it will moderate the amount of compost used at the construction site and make sure the mound is covered properly.
