Dept of Environment warns factories against pollution

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KUCHING: The Department of Environment (JAS) is serious in its efforts to ensure that factories abide by the designated standard operating procedures (SOP) in ensuring that the environment is not polluted.

Halimah taking a closer look at a breathing mask which is on display at the exhibition held in conjunction with MASM at a leading hotel. Also with her is Ruslan (left).

JAS director general Datuk Halimah Hassan stressed that actions, including compounds, notices, court actions and restraining orders, would be taken against factories which do not comply with the SOP based on the severity of the offences.

“Based on our annual report, there a few factories which had been compounded, taken for court actions as well as been issued with restraining orders,” she disclosed when met after officiating the state-level Malaysian Environmental Week (MASM) and Environmental Quality (Clean Air) Regulations Seminar 2014 at a leading hotel yesterday.

Earlier in her speech Halimah said that state JAS database in 2013 had recorded 3,475 sources of pollution.

Of the total, 51.8 per cent were from industry-based premises which were not specified such as sawmill, cement, food and others while 44.8 per cent comprised of non-industrial based unspecified premises such as sewage plant, workshops and others.

On the other hand, 1.8 per cent were from specified premises whereas 1.5 per cent and 0.1 per cent comprised of scheduled waste disposal and specified premises (rubber factories) respectively.

“Of the overall sources of pollution, around 296 premises are subjected to regulations related to clean air,” she said.

As such, Halimah pointed out that to ensure that the environmental quality is maintained, the Environmental Quality (Clean Air) Regulations had been gazetted on June 5 this year to replace the previous regulations which had been enforced since 1978.

The regulations comprised of all monitoring aspects and compliance that should be adhered by each industry.

Meanwhile, the ceremony also witnessed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signing between JAS Sarawak and Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas) in implementing the ‘Rakan Alam Sekitar’ programme.

The MoU was signed by JAS Sarawak director Ruslan Mohamad and Unimas vice chancellor Prof Datuk Dr Mohamad Kadim Suaidi.