KLANG: The chemical recycling factory at Sungai Kapar Indah where a gas explosion happened on Monday has been ordered to tighten its standard operating procedure by the Selangor Environment Department (DOE).
Selangor DOE director Nor Aziah Jaafar said the factory administration will have to find ways to ensure such an incident does not happen again.
“We had inspected the factory on Jan 6 and found everything in order. The housekeeping was proper and there was no breach of any DOE regulations and requirements,’’ said Nor Aziah.
Since the recycling factory dealt with chemicals, it was licensed by the DOE.
Nor Aziah said that preliminary investigations showed that the explosion was an accident due to a leakage during the chemical transfer process.
“The explosion happened very quickly and the factory was not able to activate its emergency response,” she said.
Nor Aziah added that the air quality was not affected following the explosion.
The explosion at the factory in Sungai Kapar Indah had rocked the area and shocked nearby residents, but luckily, no one was injured.
Hours later, another explosion and a fire happened at a gas storage factory at Taman Aman Perdana.
However, since no chemicals were involved, it fell under the jurisdiction of the Fire and Rescue Department.
Selangor Fire Department assistant director Ahmad Mukhlis Mukhtar said the department’s forensic team was identifying what caused the mishap.
Meanwhile, the Occupational Safety and Health Department registered safety and health officer Mogana Kumar Lachumanan said a risk assessment by a qualified officer must first be carried out before initiating preventive measures in factories.
“Once the risk assessment is done, you can identify potential risks and determine what the controls ought to be put in place,’’ said Mogana Kumar.
He added that chemical and gas-related fires and explosions could be caused by leaks or sparks from tools used to carry out work in the area where the chemical or gas was stored.
