By Khairul Azran Hussin
RAWANG, Sept 3 — A factory that provides the maintenance service of heavy machinery and equipment has been forced to temporarily shut down as it is believed to have caused the odour pollution in Sungai Selangor.
The contamination of the river had caused the closure of several water treatment plants in Selangor this morning, which resulted in unscheduled water cut for 1.2 million consumers in Klang Valley.
Selangor Environment, Green Technology, Science, Technology and Innovation, and Consumer Affairs Committee chairman Hee Loy Sian said the factory was found to have neglected the proper procedure of storage of waste oils and traces of solvent odour was detected flowing into the river.
“We have ordered for the factory to temporarily close while we wait for the investigation to complete. Close monitoring from time to time will be carried out by Luas (Lembaga Urus Air Selangor) and other relevant agencies to ensure the situation is dealt with soon as possible,” he said when met after visiting the factory area today.
Hee said the factory was previously issued a RM60,000 compound for the same offence.
“This shows that the awareness and sense of responsibility of the factory operator are still low and we regret that some parties are taking the easy way out by dumping the wastes into the river,” he added.
Seven areas in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor faced unscheduled water disruption beginning 10am today due to the closure of the Rantau Panjang River Water Treatment Plant at 7.15am.
Contamination traced at the source of raw water in Sungai Selangor had also forced the river water treatment plants (LRAs) Phase 1, Phase 2 and Phase 3 to cease operations at 9.00am this morning.
The areas affected by the water cut are Kuala Lumpur, Petaling, Klang/Shah Alam, Kuala Selangor, Hulu Selangor, Gombak and Kuala Langat.
