JB officials find 58 drums of smelly chemical

JOHOR BARU — The state authorities uncovered 58 drums containing a strong-smelling chemical in Johor Baru’s largest housing estate on Sunday.

Acting on complaints of a nauseating stench, the authorities located the illegal dump, roughly the size of two basketball courts, within a cemetery in Taman Johor Jaya, according to The Star newspaper.

There are more than 50,000 people 1iving in Taman Johor Jaya.

The find came barely 10 days after the discovery of 41 drums of potassium cyanide in Pangkor Island and 28 drums of an ozone-depleting chemical in Glugor, Penang.

Preliminary investigations revealed that the culprits had been dumping the chemical at the site in Johor for the past few months.

Department of Environment officials could not ascertain immediately what the drums contained.

Johor Tourism and Environment Committee chairman Datuk Jimmy Low Boon Hong, who visited the site, told the newspaper that the drums were believed to contain excess chemicals from a project site.

"We don’t know how harmful the chemical may be," The Star quoted Datuk Low as saying.

He added: "Residents have complained of a stench which we believe could have originated from leaks in the drums. Action will be taken against the owner."

Datuk Low said the area, which was partly fenced-up, was not designated as a storage site for chemical waste.

Johor Mentri Besar Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin has called on the relevant authorities to find out where the drums are from.

"This could just be the tip of the iceberg. We want the authorities to take measures to ensure that appropriate action is taken against those responsible," he added.

Residents in the vicinity said the stench surfaced about two months ago. At first, they dismissed it as coming from a carcass. But when it persisted, they checked the place and found the drums.

Source : The Straits Times 4th Apr 1995

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