3 factories in Johor's Pasir Gudang found with high traces of toxic gases, SE Asia News & Top Stories

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JOHOR BARU (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - Malaysian authorities have identified three chemical factories within Johor's Pasir Gudang industrial area with high traces of toxic gases.

Environment Department director-general Norlin Jaafar said on Thursday (July 18) that the factories, which have since been sealed, were found to emit gases such as methyl mercaptan, acrolein and acrylonitrile.

"These factories have been found to have the highest methyl mercaptan readings and are within a 3km-radius of the Taman Mawar religious school and SK Pasir Gudang 4."

"Initially, the readings were 130 parts per million (ppm) while the permissible level is about 40ppm," she said at a press conference, adding that her department was in the midst of completing its investigation papers.

Students from the two schools were among the first to be affected during a recent toxic pollution incident, suffering from nausea and shortness of breath.  

Methyl mercaptan is a type of flammable gas that is mainly used in the plastic industry and also to produce methionine in industrial quantities as a dietary component in poultry and animal feed.

Acrylonitrile is also used in plastic manufacturing while acrolein is mostly used in the production of herbicides.

However, Ms Norlin, who refused to name the three factories or state the nature of their businesses, did not say if the three companies were responsible for the toxic air pollution last month that caused scores of students to fall ill and forced the closure of hundreds of schools.

Nearly 475 educational institutions in Pasir Gudang were closed for three days in June after more than 100 students from over 30 schools experienced symptoms like nausea and dizziness.

These were attributed to "toxic fumes", the cause of which has not been pinpointed.

When the schools reopened, many students and teachers experienced similar symptoms and were rushed to clinics. However, pollution detectors showed no toxic chemicals in the air.

National news agency Bernama reported on Thursday that 39 students from five schools in Pasir Gudang were found to be vomiting and suffering from shortness of breath.

They were not admitted to hospital but were given medical treatment at health clinics nearby. 

"The health department has obtained urine samples from the victims to determine what is the cause of the latest incident," Health, Culture and Heritage exco Mohd Khuzzan Abu Bakar said in a statement.

This is not the first time Pasir Gudang has been hit with pollution.

In March, 111 primary and secondary schools in Pasir Gudang were shut for two weeks following the illegal dumping of chemicals into Sungai Kim Kim, which flows into the Strait of Johor just north of Singapore's Pulau Ubin.

More than 5,800 people sought medical treatment after inhaling toxic fumes from the river.

Johor ruler Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar has said he will propose to the Johor government to "get rid of or relocate" industries that have a negative environmental impact on the state, adding that "they endangered not just the people of Johor but also Singaporeans".

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