'Build waste-treatment plant quickly'
KUALA LUMPUR — Several state governments and industries have called for the quick construction of the centralised waste-treatment plant in Bukit Nanas, Negri Sembilan, to overcome the problem of illegal dumping of scheduled waste.
They said many factories faced the burden of storing their industrial waste while some had to export it overseas to be treated, the Sunday Star reported yesterday.
PENANG
Penang Chief Minister Dr Koh Tsu Koon was quoted as saying it would be futile, without the treatment plant, for Penang to build the transportation site at Bukit Minyak for storage of waste.
He said he had directed the State Environment Committee chairman to
look into the dumping of hazardous chemicals in public places.
The state was also very concerned about the discovery of, 28 drums of trichlorofluoromethane dumped near a football field at a housing estate in Glugor on Friday.
"We have to seek advice of technical people and action can be taken by relevant departments through relevant acts," he told reporters on Saturday.
He also said the waste dumping in Pangkor island, involving a chemical wholesaler in Penang, had underscored the urgency for an integrated control system.
"We need a good control system not only for Penang but also for the whole country. The flow and transportation of chemicals and other hazardous materials can be controlled by then," he added.
Meanwhile, factories in Penang which have reached maximum storage capacity for their industrial sludge were now shipping them to the United States for treatment.
This was provided for under an agreement with the US.
"Factories facing storage-space constraints can now send scheduled waste for treatment in the United States," Penang State Department of Environment director Raja Rokiah Raja Saigon told The Sunday Star.
The factories had reported that they were running out of storage space for waste.
The cost of building suitable storage facilities outside their factory premises was too prohibitive.
The Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers northern branch chairman O.K. Lee said members had reached maximum capacity in storing their waste and the authorities needed to seek ways to treat them.
PERAK
Perak Environment Committee chairman Datuk Au How Chong said at least 55 factories were storing toxic waste on their premises in Perak while waiting for the construction of the Bukit Nanas centre.
He said these factories produced about 28,000 tonnes, or 12 per cent of the amount of toxic waste produced in the country, a year.
PAHANG
Almost all industries in Pahang were now storing their solid toxic waste within their premises while scheduled toxic waste was stored in special tanks.
Pahang State Department of Environment director Mohamed Ishak Thani said in Kuantan that this was a criterion which industries in the state had to follow or they would not be allowed to operate.
JOHOR
In Johor Baru, a survey by the Johor Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers showed many factories in the state were forced to store large quantities of scheduled waste and sludge haphazardly because of space shortage.
One factory was reportedly storing rime tonnes of scheduled waste for the past six years while another had 1,530,! tonnes of sludge in its compound, spokesman said.
Source : The Straits Times 27th Mar 1995
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