Penang wants plant to treat toxic waste
By M. Sahibullah
PENANG, Sat. —The Federal Government has been urged to expedite the setting up of a toxic waste treatment plant in the northern region.
State Housing, Environment, Culture and Socio-Civic Amenities Committee chairman Zakaria Bakar said this was to prevent over-storage, spillage or leakage of the scheduled waste at the storage depots of the various factories in the region, particularly Penang which accounted for 30 per cent of the country’s scheduled waste.
Such a plant is also vital to safeguard the environment and reduce the risk of toxic waste contamination to factory workers.
"This is because, at present, most of the scheduled waste are stored at the storage depots in the compounds of the respective factories," the State Exco member said.
On the recent Cabinet directive to the Science, Technology and Environment Ministry to study the possibility of setting up regional toxic waste treatment plants, Zakaria felt that the Government should have no problems in having a plant in the northern region as the site for such a plant has already been identified.
"They can always set it up at Bukit Minyak in Prai, the site which has been earmarked for the proposed transfer station for scheduled waste for the region," Zakaria added.
He also urged the Federal Government to analyse the effluents of factories when determining the location of factories and before issuing them permits for their operation.
"This is to ensure that the waste by-products of the factory concerned do not cause toxic reactions when combined with the by-products of nearby factories," the State Exco member told the New Sunday Times.
"Certain waste by-products, which might seem harmless, can become toxic when they react with other harmless chemicals or compounds."
One example, he said, was common salt. "Sodium chloride is edible and harmless but when combined with certain substances, the chemical reaction that ensues may transform it to sodium or chlorine, both if in large amounts are toxic, or other highly toxic compounds," Zakaria said.
Similarly, he said, the same might apply to other seemingly harmless substances and compounds which could become highly toxic when combined with other equally harmless chemicals.
He said the effluents were not only confined to those in liquid form but also to gas vapours and solid discharges.
As a precaution, Zakaria suggested that the Government liaise with the Chemistry Department and other chemistry experts to conduct tests to prevent such possibilities.
Source : February 7 1993
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