Kalbana Perimbanayagam New Straits Times 30 Jun 19;
PASIR GUDANG: As classes here resumed today, some 130 students from 15 schools experienced breathing difficulties, nausea and vomiting, similar to the incident 10 days ago which involved 18 schools in the district, caused by pollution.
Today’s incident also saw three teachers including SK Kopok's headmistress being affected.
A total of 23 pupils from SK Kopok were among the 130 who fell sick just hours after the morning school session began. However, only 30 were sent for further health screenings at the Masai and Pasir Gudang health clinics.
The other students who showed less severe reaction to the pollution /allergy were given first aid and allowed to go home.
Classes continued as usual for the other students, including some 46 special needs students at SK Kopok and other schools in the district.
State Health, Culture and Heritage Committee chairman Mohd Khuzzan Abu Bakar said 130 from 15 schools had experienced breathing difficulties, nausea and vomiting.
"Most of them experienced mild symptoms and were given the necessary treatment by the medical team which has been on standby since morning. Only 30 people including two teachers and the headmistress of SK Kopok were referred to the health clinic for further observation," he said.
Among the students affected were those from SK Pasir Putih, SMK Tanjung Puteri Resort 2, SMK Nusa Damai and SK Kopok.
Khuzzan who was speaking to reporters after paying a visit to SK Kopok here said there will be no school closure. Instead schools will remain open as usual but will come under close supervision of the medical team which was on standby.
"Classes can go on as usual and medical team on standby can assist by providing medical help on a case to case basis, taking into account the symptoms and severity," he said.
Khuzzan reiterated that it was important for authorities to find and stop the source of the chemical emissions.
"What we need now is to find the source of the pollutant. That is utmost importance," he said.
Meanwhile, a source from the Department of Environment said based on the air pollutant device reading, some contaminants were detected at all 15 schools.
"The only difference is that some schools had Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) reading up to 4 as the highest and the lowest VOC reading recorded was 0.5.
"SK Scientex recorded the highest VOC of 4."
He said in SK Kopok they detected several different readings of contaminants.
"When we tested the air for pollutant on the fourth floor, the VOC reading registered 3 but when the device was used to record the contaminant on the ground floor,it dropped to 0.5,” the source said.
He however said he was not able to identify the chemical gas in the air as the device was not designed to identify the type of pollutant. It can only show the presence of abnormality and the amount which was present in the air.
Students from 111 schools in and around Pasir Gudang had returned to their classrooms today. Authorities had closed the educational institutions after about 100 students from 18 schools experienced breathing problems on June 20.
The air pollution was alleged to be from factories operating in the Pasir Gudang area. At least 10 people were admitted and more than 700 sought treatment in the nearby hospital.
The air pollution investigation conducted by authorities later showed the presence of methanethiol, Acrylonitrile and Acrolein.
130 fall ill just hours after schools reopen
The Star 1 Jul 19;
PASIR GUDANG: It was supposed to have been the first day for the 111 schools in Pasir Gudang after they had to close due to pollution last week but barely three hours after classes started, students and teachers experienced breathing difficulties and nausea.Some 130 people, including three teachers, from 15 schools were down with dizzy spells and had to seek treatment.
Some of the schools had been affected since the incident began in Pasir Gudang on June 20.
State Health, Culture and Heritage Committee chairman Mohd Khuzzan Abu Bakar said 30 of them were sent to the district health clinics in Pasir Gudang and Masai for treatment.
“All are in stable condition.
“We noticed that this time, most of those affected were studying on the upper floors of their schools.
“All schools will remain open despite the latest incident,” Mohd Khuzzan said after visiting SK Kopok here yesterday.
He pointed out that in SK Kopok, which was one of the schools affected, the 26 students who experienced breathing difficulties had all been studying in classrooms on the upper level.
All students would now be moved into classrooms located on the lower levels of their school buildings, he added.
“The Pasir Gudang Emergency Mutual Aid has been monitoring the air since morning and will continue to do so to ensure that the air quality is normal.
“All agencies, including the Department of Environment, will continue to monitor the air quality around Pasir Gudang,” he said, adding that the reading showed no cause for alarm.
Pasir Gudang schools to remain open
venesa devi The Star 30 Jun 19;
JOHOR BARU: All 111 primary and secondary schools in Pasir Gudang will remain open despite several students experiencing breathing difficulties and nausea on Sunday (June 30) morning.
State health, culture and heritage committee chairman Mohd Khuzzan Abu Bakar said that classes would go continue as air quality readings here were normal.
"We will move students whose classrooms are at higher floor to a lower level as most students who experienced symptoms today are from the third and fourth floors.
He said agencies like the Pasir Gudang Emergency Mutual Aid (Pagema) and the Department of Enviroment (DoE) would continue to monitor the air around Pasir Gudang.
He added that some 130 students, including three teachers from 15 schools, experienced symptoms on Sunday (June 30).
"About 30 were sent to the Pasir Gudang and Masai health clinics," he said at SK Kopok, one of the affected schools here.
He added that schools with evening sessions, including SK Kopok, would continue classes as usual Sunday.
It was earlier reported that several students from various schools had experienced breathing difficulties just hours after schools in Pasir Gudang reopened.
'Hard to say whether development planning was a factor in Pasir Gudang pollution'
Rizalman Hammim New Straits Times 30 Jun 19;
JOHOR BARU: The authorities need to identify the exact cause of the air pollution problem in Pasir Gudang before trying to ascertain whether development planning was a factor in the incident.
Associate Professor Dr Foziah Johar of the Department of Urban and Regional Planning of the Faculty of Built Environment of Universiti Teknologi Malaysia said it was hard to say whether development planning had been a contributory factor without carrying out an in-depth study.
She said it was equally important to determine whether the pollution was caused by the operations of the industries or the disposal of waste by irresponsible parties.
Foziah said the plan would have been very detailed and would have included various guidelines, including on environmental issues.
“The plan would have determined the different zones for industrial and residential areas.
“During the planning process, the authorities would have taken into account various factors, including environmental issues, before approving the plan.
“The plan is regulated so all the parties need to abide by it.”
Foziah said it was also important for the authorities boost enforcement to stop irresponsible parties from disposing of toxic substances illegally.
“If strict enforcement is implemented, people would think twice before discharging any substances that are highly toxic.”
On the proposal to create buffer zones. Foziah said it was something that had to be studied further.
Last week, Energy, Science, Technology, Environment and Climate Change Minister Yeo Bee Yin said unsustainable development had affected the air, soil and river in Pasir Gudang.
She said there were 2,005 licensed factories in the district and 250 were chemical-based factories.
The minister had also said that some of the high-risk factories were not separated from residential areas and schools by buffer zones.
