DENGKIL, July 5 — A foul smell that has been permeating the air for a week within a 4.7-kilometre radius has led to the discovery of an illegal landfill in Kampung Semarang here that is filled with not only domestic waste but also chemical waste.
The Department of Environment (DOE) has launched an investigation since June 30 to determine the various potential sources of the strong odour such as factories and pipelines before finally, it found the site from which the pollution emanated yesterday, which is located about 700 metres from Sungai Langat.
Environment and Water Minister Datuk Seri Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man said there were about 100 drums with a capacity of 200 litres containing liquid, semi-liquid and coloured solids chemical waste suspected to be a scheduled waste at the pollution site.
“There are also traces of the Intermediate Bulk Container (IBC) that has been cut while the contents are drained in a large hole that has been dug up by the party who disposed of the waste,” he told the reporters at the site here today.
He said the acrid smell from the landfill has travelled to Taman Emas and Taman Kristal in Dengkil as well as Presint 5 in Putrajaya.
He did not rule out the possibility that illegal waste disposal had taken place at the location over the past months and the increasing amount of waste resulted in the strong odour.
Tuan Ibrahim said no arrests have been made so far but the DOE has mobilised a team to investigate and identify the culprits.
He said heavy machinery suspected to be used to dispose of the waste was seized by the DOE, adding that they have identified several indicators in terms of the types of chemicals that had been disposed of at the site.
Tuan Ibrahim said the Environment director-general Wan Abdul Latiff Wan Jaffar has been instructed to coordinate a quick action meeting with relevant agencies including the National Disaster Management Agency to clean up and remove the waste from the site.
Checks by Bernama found that the 1.3 hectares of land were swarmed with flies and covered in dust in addition to the strong odour while the DOE team was seen collecting samples.
