‘White’ river in Ipoh caused by latex, says exco man

Perak executive councillor Mohd Akmal Kamarudin (second from left) and Department of Environment officials check the water in Sungai Meru, Ipoh, today. (Mohd Akmal Kamarudin Facebook pic)

GEORGE TOWN: A river near Ipoh turned white and frothy yesterday because workers at a rubber glove factory had forgotten to turn off a valve, which resulted in discharge flowing into the water.

An angler had sounded the alarm by recording a “milky” Sungai Meru, with hundreds of dead fish floating in the river.

In response, state executive councillor Mohd Akmal Kamarudin said it was caused by negligence by two of the factory’s workers.

“Based on early reports, what was in the river was actually not waste but rubber raw materials.

“The workers had forgotten to close a valve while loading raw materials from a lorry to a storage tank at the factory,” he told reporters at the scene.

Akmal, who is the acting environment committee chairman, said “cubes of latex” were found in the river, which showed that the dumping was unintentional.

Perak Department of Environment director Rosli Zul (right) shows the valve that workers forgot to shut.

He said the factory had likely committed an offence by not informing the Department of Environment about the spill but had only done so late at night, which was against the standard operating procedures.

On claims that the river is polluted in this manner at least twice a year, with the water appearing in “different colours”, Akmal said those making the claims must provide proof.

“We will then take immediate action,” he said, adding that the factory has been ordered to clean up a 1km stretch of the river. - FMT