Pasir Gudang toxic fumes under control, says Johor Chief Minister

PASIR GUDANG — The Johor state government has declared that the toxic fumes situation along the Kim Kim River is under control, even though more schools were closed by the Education Ministry on March 13.

Johor Chief Minister Osman Sapian told reporters that there was no need to evacuate or move residents living along the river, pointing out that the various departments and agencies have contained the situation as of March 13.

“We expect that the worst is over. In fact, there has not been any death in relation to the incident and the situation is not one that warrants a state of emergency,” said Ms Osman at a media conference after chairing the state disaster management committee meeting at Menara Aqabah here on March 13.

Present were Health Minister Dzulkefly Ahmad, Energy, Science, Technology, Environment and Climate Change Minister Yeo Bee Yin and senior state department and agency heads.

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Mr Osman said that the fumes mainly affected schools and not residential areas in Pasir Gudang.

He believed that this was due to the open nature of schools that allowed the hazardous fumes to enter the buildings through the wind, or also the hot weather which can trigger the fumes.

Mr Osman also announced a special forensic task force to address the issue of chemical pollution here.

He said the task force, consisting of several related agencies and departments, will be tasked to investigate the root cause of the pollution.

“At present the disaster management committee (is) monitoring the situation on a 24-hour basis,” said Mr Osman, allaying fears that the situation was critical.

On clean-up efforts, Mr Osman said work along the 1.5km stretch of contaminated river will be implemented immediately and is expected to be completed within a week.

“We have also approved an emergency allocation of RM6.4 million (S$2 million) for cleaning and relief assistance to the affected victims,” he said.

Mr Osman also called on all parties to stay calm and not to politicise the issue.

Meanwhile, Ms Yeo said the priority now was to clean up the river’s affected stretch as soon as possible, followed by constant monitoring.

“Those involved in the cleaning-up operations will also employ the use of in-situ equipment to better tackle the situation according to the surrounding weather conditions.

“At the same time, the ministry also will stress on the usage of personal protective equipment (PPE) to reduce the risk of hazards for the personnel,” said Ms Yeo.

On the latest numbers, Mr Dzulkefly said 506 people have been treated by medical authorities.

“Of this figure, 166 have been warded and nine are in the intensive care unit (ICU) since last Thursday,” he said.

Two main hospitals, the Sultan Ismail Hospital and Sultanah Aminah Hospital, are treating those with symptoms of toxic gas inhalation.

At the same time, the Taman Mawar and Taman Pasir Putih community centres have been turned into temporary treatment areas by the Health Department. MALAY MAIL