PETALING JAYA: The battery plant that is allegedly discharging hazardous waste at Kampung Jenjarom, Selangor, must be shut down immediately, says Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong.
Lambasting the Selangor state government and the Department of Environment for what he called a lackadaisical attitude towards the issue, the MCA president said there was no point serving the factory with a stop-work notice.
“Shut the factory down. All that was scheduled waste!” he said on Facebook yesterday.
On Friday, Kampung Jenjarom residents held a protest and called for the Selangor government to move a factory manufacturing batteries out of their neighbourhood in Kuala Langat.
The residents claimed that the factory had been discharging hazardous waste which had entered the drainage and polluted waterways.
They also expressed concerns that they were exposed to dangerous levels of lead.
Dr Wee said that environmentalist and activist Dr Maketab Mohamed had confirmed there were signs of lead poisoning among the residents and factory workers.
“There is clear evidence to show that the pollution has posed a danger to the people.
“And the incident happened in Selangor – a state that has been governed by Pakatan for more than 10 years.
“This is a scenario between life and death and the truth we cannot deny,” he said.
Dr Wee said that studies by Dr Maketab, who has been helping the NGOs and victims on the scene, showed that lead content in the area was very high after hair samples of the residents and workers around the plant were taken for tests.
“The residents and NGOs had to use their own money to conduct the tests at accredited laboratories to prove there is pollution.
“The factory owner must be accountable for all costs of cleaning, treatment of victims and damage.
“The Health Ministry must conduct blood tests on the approximate 6,000 people at stake, as the plant is very close to a kindergarten, two primary schools and a secondary school,” he said.
He pointed out that lead could damage children’s brain development and said the state government should listen to Dr Maketab’s call.
On Facebook on Saturday, Dr Maketab said test results of the hair sampling for lead showed that there were some residents with red readings of over 10mcg/g (micrograms of lead per gram) in their hair.
When contacted, he noted that high levels of lead in the blood would cause impacts to the brain and kidneys; and learning disabilities in children.
“We are pushing for blood tests to be carried out to determine the level of blood lead level (BLL) for the workers there, of whom 50 are locals and the rest foreigners, for Chelation Therapy to be administered once confirmed,” he said, adding that normal BLL should be 5mcg/dL (micrograms of lead per decilitre in blood).
Calling it a “small Sungai Kim Kim incident”, Dr Maketab said all stakeholders and relevant agencies should be invited to deliberate on how to solve the issue properly.
“The factory broke many laws and regulations. How did the local authority allow such a heavy industry factory to relocate in 2014 to a traditional village that was opened in 1923?“The minimum buffer zone is 500m but both schools as well as at least 40 village houses are within the buffer zone,” he said.
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