Malaysia: Johor rules out Sg Kim Kim repeat following Pasir Gudang air pollution incident

mohd farhaan shah The Star 21 Jun 19;

PASIR GUDANG: The Johor government has ruled out a repeat of the Sungai Kim Kim incident after 15 individuals, including 13 students, were admitted to hospital following breathing and vomiting difficulties.

State Health, Culture and Heritage Committee chairman Mohd Khuzzan Abu Bakar said the authorities have opened an operation centre at the Pasir Gudang Indoor Stadium, following the latest incident on Thursday (June 20).

“This incident has nothing to do with Sungai Kim Kim because the school is located some 6km away and so far, the Department of Environment (DOE) has found no illegal dumping here.

“The Fire and Rescue Department and DOE will lead the operation team, where they would inspect air quality within a 2km radius around the affected area,” he told a press conference at the operation centre here Friday (June 21).



He added that if there were no new incidents reported on Friday, the authorities would be making a decision on the matter on Saturday (June 22).

It was reported that the incident occurred at Sekolah Agama Taman Mawar at around 3.39pm on Thursday.

In March, toxic pollution in Sungai Kim Kim resulted in over 4,000 people falling ill, which also saw the temporary closure of 111 schools in Pasir Gudang district.


29 victims of Pasir Gudang air pollution have been treated, in stable condition
loh foon fong The Star 21 Jun 19;

KUALA LUMPUR: Twenty nine victims of the air pollution in Pasir Gudang, Johor have been treated and all were reported to be in stable condition, says the Health Ministry.

Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said that up to 10am, there were 29 victims, of which 21 were females and eight were males.

Sixteen of them, 14 students and two adults, were from Sekolah Agama Taman Mawar, while 13, all students, were from SK Pasir Gudang (4).

Fourteen victims were given outpatient treatment and 15 were treated at Hospital Sultan Ismail, Johor Baru, where six were warded.

“All the patients are in stable condition. None were admitted to the intensive care unit and no deaths were recorded,” said Dr Noor Hisham in a statement on Friday (June 21).

On Thursday (June 20), the media reported that about 15 students from Sekolah Agama Taman Mawar suffered breathing difficulties and vomiting, believed to be caused by air pollution.

Dr Noor Hisham said that the Johor health department reported that a number of students experienced breathing difficulties at the school.

Emergency calls were received at 3pm and the emergency assistance team from Hospital Sultanah Aminah, Hospital Sultan Ismail and Pasir Gudang health clinic were sent to the scene, he said.

The operations offering emergency treatment ended at 8pm yesterday (June 20), he said.

“The cause of the incident has not been identified,” he said.

Dr Noor Hisham said that the Johor health department was still monitoring the area.

“Members of the public are advised to get treatment if they experience breathing difficulties, nausea, dizziness, headaches, muscle cramps and body weakness,” he said.

The Pasir Gudang health clinic is opened to receive and treat other victims who may be affected.

Urgent action needed to clean up poor environmental quality in Pasir Gudang
Audrey Dermawan New Straits Times 21 Jun 19;

GEORGE TOWN: The authorities have been told to step up monitoring and inspections, especially in industrial sites close to schools and residential areas in the Pasir Gudang district in Johor.

This follows yet another incident at a school there where the health of students has been put in jeopardy.

Expressing alarm over the latest incident, Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM) said an urgent explanation as to why the incident happened must be forthcoming.

Its president, Meenakshi Raman, said it was shocking that action was taken by the authorities only when an emergency situation presented itself, such as when students in schools faced serious health conditions.

Clearly, she added, we have not learnt from the recent Sungai Kim Kim pollution, also in Pasir Gudang.

“As such, SAM calls on the Department of Environment (DoE) and the state and local authorities in Johor to place high priority on the poor state of environmental quality in Johor, and take urgent action in monitoring the water and air quality in the state.

“This is especially needed in the Pasir Gudang district and other places where schools and residential areas are (located) close to industrial sites.

“Inspecting factories and industrial sites in the area are also most urgent, to ascertain how the industrial wastes are being disposed of. We should not be waiting for emergencies to happen before taking efforts to decontaminate the affected sites,” she said.

Meenakshi said the recent incidents had also revealed that enforcement measures by authorities were rather ineffective, as action was only taken when complaints were received.

The approach taken, she noted, was usually one of “self-regulation”, meaning that factories and businesses were left to self-regulate.

“The ‘self-regulation approach’ should be stopped immediately, and authorities, especially the DoE, and the local and municipal councils, should step up their monitoring and inspections, especially in industrial sites close to schools and residential areas.

“We call for urgent action to be taken, before more students in the Pasir Gudang area succumb to further deterioration of their health due to exposure to toxic fumes and wastes from industrial activities.

“Further, the culprits who cause such pollution and ill-health should be taken to task for their violation of the laws, with prosecutions that result in jail terms and huge fines, so that environmental crimes are taken seriously in the future,” she said.

It was reported that 15 students from Sekolah Agama Taman Mawar in Pasir Gudang were taken to a nearby hospital, suffering from breathing difficulties and vomiting, on Thursday.

The students had displayed symptoms similar to those affected by the chemical pollution of Sungai Kim Kim in March this year.

Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad had said that the symptoms could possibly be the result of contamination from organic fumes and that the situation at the school was “under control” with the authorities monitoring the situation, including in determining the cause of the pollution and the contamination levels.