LUAS Takes Immediate Action After Oil Traces, Odour Detected In Sungai Gong

SHAH ALAM, Oct 9 (Bernama) -- Lembaga Urus Air Selangor (LUAS) took early preventive measures by deploying an oil boom in Sungai Gong to contain oil traces, after the discovery of oil residue and odour in the river at 9.50 am on Monday (Oct 7).

State Public Health and Environment Committee chairman, Jamaliah Jamaluddin, stated that immediate mitigation efforts, including static monitoring at 30-minute intervals, were also carried out at Sungai Sembah.

She added that an investigation, under the Yellow Code of the State Water Resource Pollution Emergency Manual, was initiated, following a 1 TON (threshold odour number) reading recorded in the river.

“Mitigation actions and comprehensive investigations are ongoing, as the polluted water has the potential to affect the main water treatment plants, particularly the Rantau Panjang water treatment plant, located approximately 21 kilometres away, and the Sungai Selangor Selangor water treatment plant Phases 1, 2 and 3 which are around 25.68 kilometres from the source,” she said in a statement, today.

Jamaliah also revealed that the preliminary investigation suggested that the contamination may have originated from a factory in the Rawang Integrated Industrial Park, likely due to a leak from a damaged tank valve.

“The leak from the tank, which has a capacity of 1.84 cubic meters, resulted in approximately 1.23 cubic metres of oil overflowing into a nearby drain, and subsequently into Sungai Gong,” she explained.

In response, Jamaliah said that LUAS ordered the premises to halt the oil flow immediately, and issued a Written Notice under Section 121(1) of the LUAS Enactment 1999, directing the premises to restore and clean the affected areas as soon as possible.

She added that the cleanup and vacuuming of oil waste at all affected locations, carried out by the contractor appointed for the factory, was completed today. A total of 10,000 litres of oil-contaminated water was cleaned and vacuumed.

“Verification at all the involved locations has been conducted, and the situation is fully under control, with the odour readings and river conditions returning to normal,” she said.

-- BERNAMA