Karak Highway Oil Spill Cleanup Nearing Completion - Exco

SHAH ALAM, Dec 26 (Bernama) -- Oil spill cleanup operations following an accident involving a tanker carrying palm oil at KM27.9 of the Karak Highway heading toward Kuala Lumpur yesterday will be completed by late this evening.

Selangor Public Health and Environment Exco Jamaliah Jamaluddin said this was due to the frozen and thick oil residue, which requires manual scooping for removal.

“As of 10.30 am today, cleanup efforts at the site have reached 60 per cent completion. The appointed contractor is working with the Selangor Water Management Authority (LUAS), Pengurusan Air Selangor Sdn Bhd and Indah Water Konsortium (IWK).

“Four vacuum tankers from IWK have been deployed to suction the oil residue from the highway’s sump, while manual cleanup is also underway to expedite the process,” she said in a statement today.

Jamaliah said LUAS’s inspection of the accident site and surrounding areas found that the spill, involving an estimated 20 tonnes of oil, had entered a nearby drainage system.

“LUAS’s check found that the spill, which accumulated in the highway sump, had flowed into a Sungai Gombak tributary, disrupting the raw water supply to the Sungai Gombak Water Treatment Plant from 2 am to 6 pm yesterday,” she said.

Jamaliah explained that LUAS subsequently coordinated the cleanup at the site through appointed contractors and directed the tanker’s company to undertake the work, including scooping out the frozen oil residue from the drainage and highway sump.

“In addition, LUAS implemented preventive measures by deploying three units of oil booms at the Sungai Gombak tributary to trap any oil traces entering the river. Ten activated carbon bags were also placed in the affected area to neutralise odours,” she said.

The highway concessionaire, AFA PRIME Berhad (formerly known as ANIH Berhad), promptly managed the oil spill by applying sawdust to the road surface and constructing soil barriers in the highway drainage system.

According to media reports, a 41-year-old tanker driver survived after his vehicle overturned on the Karak Highway near Genting Sempah, believed due to a brake failure.

Gombak police chief ACP Noor Ariffin Mohamad Nasir said the tanker was en route from Kelantan to Port Klang when the incident occurred at 12.30 am.

-- BERNAMA