DENGKIL: A foul smell that has been permeating the air for a week within a 4.7-kilometre radius has led to the discovery of an illegal landfill in Kampung Semarang here that is filled with not only domestic waste but also chemical waste.
The department of environment (DOE) launched an investigation on June 30 to determine the source of the strong odour. It finally found the landfill which was located about 700 metres from Sungai Langat.
Environment and water minister Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man said there were about 100 drums, with a capacity of 200 litres, containing liquid, semi-liquid and coloured solid chemical waste, suspected to be a scheduled waste, at the site.
“There are also traces of the intermediate bulk container (IBC) that has been cut. The contents have been drained into a large hole that had been dug by the person responsible for disposing the waste,” he told reporters at the site.
He said the acrid smell from the landfill had spread to Taman Emas and Taman Kristal in Dengkil as well as Presint 5 in Putrajaya.
He did not rule out the possibility that illegal waste had been dumped at the location over the past several months, resulting in the strong odour.
Tuan Ibrahim said no arrests has been made but the DOE had mobilised a team to investigate and identify the culprits.
He said the DOE had also seized heavy machinery suspected to have been used to dispose of the waste.
Tuan Ibrahim said the director-general of environment Wan Latiff Wan Jaffar had been instructed to coordinate efforts to remove the waste and clean up the site. - FMT
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