Can Rawang folk cope with two incinerators, asks Selayang MP

 

Selayang MP William Leong today questioned the risks of having two waste-to-energy (WTE) incinerators operating simultaneously within a 15km radius in Rawang.

The first incinerator is the proposed Sultan Idris Shah (SIS) WTE Green Energy Plant under the purview of the Selangor state government.

The second is the relocated WTE incinerator by the Housing and Local Government Ministry which was initially planned to be built at Taman Beringin, Kepong, and was later moved to Rawang.

“Residents, parents and students of schools, business owners, and their workers in Rawang have legitimate concerns and are entitled to seek information and obtain reassurances and guarantees from the state and federal government that the two WTE incinerators, operating simultaneously within a radius of about 15km, do not expose them to health and environmental risks.

“Otherwise, the precautionary principle requires that the two incinerators have to be relocated or aborted,” he said.

At a press conference today, Leong said that while he was opposed to incinerators, he understood that the government was at an impasse on dealing with waste.

“I’m not for incineration. I know the government is faced with a dilemma to manage the increasing volume of rubbish and they are looking at incineration as a solution.

“I, if given the opportunity, would want them to go more on prevention. But if they think that the pressure to resolve it is too much and still want to go for incineration then Batu Arang and Rawang is not the place,” he said.

“We are not so densely populated that there is nowhere (else) in Selangor that cannot site this. The only thing is cost, it is the cost of transporting the municipal waste from Kuala Lumpur to the incineration facility.

“It is therefore a question of profit, of trying to save money to have bigger profits. Is it profit or people that you should be thinking of?” he added.

Traffic snarls and health risks

Leong alleged that transportation of municipal goods would result in a frustrating traffic situation, with 3,600 tonnes of garbage daily.

He also called on the government to ensure that the highways, roads, and streets would be cleaned from the smells and spills by the daily use of garbage trucks.

Meanwhile, Leong also claimed that the incinerators would pose health risks to the residents residing in the area as the resulting emissions would be released into the air.

“Incineration creates or releases carbon oxides, nitrogen oxides, harmful chemicals and pollutants into the air, heavy metals such as lead and mercury, toxic chemicals, and toxic fly ash,” he said.

The Sultan Idris Shah (SIS) WTE Green Energy Plant is set to be overseen by Kelab Darul Ehsan Bhd (KDEB) Waste Management and YTL Power International Bhd.

KDEB Waste Management is a subsidiary of Selangor Menteri Besar Incorporated (MBI Selangor).

The size of the project was not indicated in the project’s plan but it was said the plant will be able to process 2,400 tonnes of waste daily, producing 58 megawatts of energy.

The plan also stated that the project is slated to be built between Batu Arang and Bandar Tasik Puteri, situated right beside a lake.

The other WTE incinerator originally planned to be built in Taman Beringin Kepong was relocated after receiving objections from members of the public.

Leong said that the location was identified as “Rawang Land 3” and was located within a radius of 1.4km of KRI Industrial Park, 1.5km and 2km radius to the residential areas of Taman Tun Perak, Taman Tun Teja, and Taman Pinggiran Pelangi respectively. - Mkini