Eyes in the sky detect 46 polluted sites in Pasir Gudang
Imagery from a satellite and drones have helped the authorities identify 46 areas that may potentially be toxic chemical pollution sites in the Pasir Gudang industrial zone.
Energy, Science, Technology, Environment and Climate Change Minister Yeo Bee Yin said the discoveries were made when the authorities used satellite imagery to monitor chemical pollution in Sungai Kim Kim.
“The Department of Environment (DoE) will investigate these sites as we are only basing this new information on data received from the satellite and drones.
“We will send DoE officers there as there are no concrete statistics right now.
“We don’t know if the pollution we observed there is from domestic or scheduled waste,” she said after tabling the full report of the Sungai Kim Kim pollution at the Datuk Jaafar Muhammad building here.
Present was state Health, Environment and Agriculture Committee chairman Dr Sahruddin Jamal.
Nearly 6,000 people were treated for various illnesses after toxic chemical waste were dumped into Sungai Kim Kim on March 7.
Asked if the 46 new locations would also have to be cleaned up, Yeo said she could not provide a definite answer as that was under the purview of the state government and the local council.
“I will submit the list of the 46 locations to the state government for further action.”
Yeo said her ministry would set up a committee to assess the Pasir Gudang industrial zone and rivers that have been polluted.
“This is to spare the residents from being affected further by the Sungai Kim Kim incident. We will also propose that such committees be set up in other industrial zones in the country,” she said.