Government Officers Awarding Licences To Bauxite Miners Should Be Held Responsible - Soil Expert
FilePic: New Straits TimesKUALA LUMPUR: Government officers awarding licences to bauxite miners in the vicinity of Kuantan should be held responsible for their failure to safeguard the interest of the public, says a soil expert.
Soil Minerolgy Expert of University Putra Malaysia Prof Dr Shamsuddin Jusop said that this action should be taken to protect the health of those innocent people living within the area.
"The level of aluminium, silver, cadmium, iron, lead,chromium and manganese in Sungai Pengorak, Pahang for example had exceeded the limits of Class Three of the National River Water Quality Standards.
"If this is the case, for sure the water from the river cannot be used for washing, let alone for drinking purpose," he said in his paper on 'The Negative side of Bauxite Mining Activities in Kuantan' released here Thursday.
As the bauxite was being transported by lorry to Kuantan Port on a daily basis to be exported by ship to the overseas destination, he said the air in the vicinity of the mines and the road where the lorry passed was filthy with red dust.
"The fine particulate of size <2.5 um (PM 2.5) will be inhaled and go deep into human respiratory system that may affect the function of the human lung.
"Even the air in the areas far from the mine land but located along the lorry pathway had been polluted by the bauxite dust," he added.
According to him if this is the case, people living in the villages along the road leading to Kuantan Port are not spared either by the bauxite dust pollution.
"Fine particles can travel far and wide, blown by the winds deep into the mainland of Peninsular Malaysia as they do for the smog that blanketed the airspace of the country in recent years.
"The people in the vicinity of Kuantan and Jabor Valley are subjected to dangerous level of air pollution that might affect their health and eventually their lives," he wrote.
Thus, the government according to Shamsuddin should immediately take appropriate actions to prevent further damage being done to human health because of bauxite mining activities in the area.
He added that highest element in the bauxite in Kuantan is aluminium followed closely with iron in second which were injurious to health.
Chromium and nickel which are present in large amount in the bauxite of Kuantan are also dangerous elements hazardous to health, he said.
Meanwhile, National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) chairman Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye, in a statement here today, welcomed the decision by the federal government and Pahang state government to implement the three-month ban on bauxite mining in the state, which should have been taken earlier.
During the suspension of mining activities, Lee advised relevant authorities to monitor and supervise all the clean-up operations very closely such as the clearing of bauxite stockpiles, setting up of an integrated storage area and a bauxite waste treatment system.
"Appropriate measures must be taken to ensure that all the conditions are met and works are implemented according to the directives.
"Besides that, the authorities should also ensure that there is a separate route to transport bauxite ores and not using the roads that are frequented by the public or near residential areas," he said.
He said that in future, bauxite mining must be regulated and strictly monitored to safeguard people's health and ensure environmental sustainability.
"Businesses must make responsible decisions that would limit the negative impact of their activities on the environment, health and safety of the people.
"If the three-month moratorium on bauxite mining is not sufficient to implement the measures announced by the government, the time period should be extended until the clean-up operations are completed and the government is satisfied that all issues regarding environment, health and safety are taken care of," he added.
-BERNAMA
