SHAH ALAM 31st AUGUST: The recent oil spill near Sungai Selangor has been contained, and recovery can be expected as soon as clean up effort wraps up,” said Elizabeth Wong.
The Bukit Lanjan assemblywoman and Selangor executive council member in charge of Tourism, Consumer Affairs, and Environment said the clean up effort is closely monitored to ensure that there is no other contamination.
“The source contamination is under control. There is no longer any danger of the spillage permeating the river, but instead it is being contained by an oil boom,” she said in a media statement yesterday.
Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor (Syabas) had activated an Emergency Response Plan (ERP) to Code Red following a diesel spill near Selangor and Kuala Lumpur.
The incident caused an unscheduled water cuts as containment measures in the Petaling District, Kuala Lumpur, Klang, Gombak, Kuala Selangor, Hulu Selangor and Kuala Langat.
According to Ms. Wong, the oil boom was constructed by quick-thinking plant workers to reduce the rate of oil spill towards the intake as soon as they were notified of the incident.
The diesel oil spill was caused by a waste collection vehicle service centre in an industrial area at 10:50 a.m. yesterday.
In a media statement yesterday, Ms. Wong revealed that based on the investigation that traced the oil spill to its source, it was discovered that the spill came from Sungai Gong.
The investigation was organised by Lembaga Urus Air Selangor (Luas), Jabatan Alam Sekitar (JAS), Suruhanjaya Perkhidmatan Air Negara (SPAN), Syarikat Pengeluar Air Sungai Selangor Sdn. Bhd. (SPLASH) and Puncak Niaga Sdn. Bhd.
“The emergency notification was received at 8 a.m. The Rantau Panjang water treatment plant immediately ceased their operations by 8:05 a.m. because of the spillage.
“By 9:20 a.m., the three treatment plants (Sungai Selangor Phases 1, 2 and 3) immediately followed suit.
“The premises were directed by the JAS to cease all operations. The clean up directive was also released to these three premises to be carried out immediately,” said Ms. Wong.
– FZL
