Toxic Waste Poisoning in Johor
An update by Kenneth Lyen
Toxic Waste Poisoning
Some 3000 people, many of them students and teachers living in the Pasir Gudang region of Johor Malaysia, have suffered toxic waste poisoning in March 2019, according to Dr Sahruddin Jamal, Johor's Health Environment and Agriculture Committee chairman (Star Newspaper). They exhibited shortness of breath, vomiting, dizziness, fainting, lethargy, and some experienced shaking of the limbs and some motor incoordination.
Medical Response
Over 390 people have been hospitalized, 12 of them in the intensive care unit. The Johor Ministry of Education has closed all 111 schools plus 92 kindergartens and preschools in the Pasir Gudang district.
Where was the toxic waste found?
According to Johor Department of Environment’s director Mohammad Ezzani Mat Salleh, "A tanker lorry believed to be from an illegal tyre recycling factory dumped 20 to 40 tonnes of chemical waste into Sungai Kim Kim River. The oily substance is believed to be oil waste commonly used in marine engine compressors and is considered scheduled waste that needs to be disposed of properly under the law.” Some of this toxic waste is mixed into the surrounding area's soil.
Did the toxic waste come from one factory only?
Initially, the Environment Minister, Yeo Bee Yin said that only one illegal tyre-recycling factory was involved. Subsequently, over 80 factories had committed at least one offence under the Environment Quality Act.
What are the poisons found?
Toxins found include: hydrogen cyanide, benzene, acrolein, acrylonitrile, hydrogen chloride, methane, toluene, xylene, ethylbenzene and d-limonene.
It is suggested that after the first phase of symptoms, it is possible that some of the subsequent cases may be due to anxiety, similar to that seen in other epidemics, reminiscent of mass hysteria.
What are the toxic chemicals found? (Extracted from the Straits Times)
1. Benzene: Used to make some types of lubricants, rubbers, dyes and pesticides. Benzene is carcinogenic, and can cause aplastic anaemia. Acute toxicity include drowsiness, dizziness, headaches, irregular heart beat, and later, confusion and unconsciousness.
2. Acrolein: This is a clear liquid with a pungent suffocating odour. It is used to control plant and algae growth in irrigation canals. When inhaled, Acrolein causes respiratory distress and pulmonary oedema. It is severely irritating to the skin, eyes, and mucous membranes.
3. Acrylonitrile: A colourless liquid with a garlic-like odour, it is used to make plastics, acrylic fibres and synthetic rubber. Symptoms of poisoning include weakness, difficulty breathing, dizziness, collapse and convulsions.
4. Hydrogen Chloride: Used for cleaning, pickling, electroplating metals and tanning leather. Hydrogen chloride has a strong irritating smell. If swallowed, it can cause severe mouth pain, swelling of the throat resulting in difficulty breathing, abdominal pain, severe chest pains, and shock.
5. Methane: This is a colourless, odourless and highly flammable gas. In high concentrations, it may lead to headaches, nausea, dizziness, drowsiness, rapid breathing, and fast heart rate.
6. Toluene: This is a clear, colourless liquid with a distinctive smell. It occurs naturally in crude all, and is produced to make paints, paint thinners, fingernail polish, lacquers, adhesives, rubber for printing processes, and tanning leather. Repeated exposure can lead to headaches, dizziness, "drukenness", drowsiness, weakness, memory loss and loss of appetite.
7. Xylene: This is a colourless liquid with a sweet aromatic odour. It is widely used as a paint thinner and solvent, inks, adhesives, and a solvent for pesticides. It irritates the skin, eyes and lungs, but if ingested, it can cause headaches, dizziness, drowsiness, and confusion.
8, Ethylbenzene: This is a colourless liquid that smells like gasoline. It is found naturally in oils. It is also found in gasoline, paints, pesticides, carpet glud, and varnishes. When inhaled it irritates the eyes, and throat. Higher levels can damage the inner ear, resulting in vertigo and dizziness.
9. D-Limonene: This is a colourless liquid or oil with a pleaant lemon-like smell. It is widely used as a fragrance additive to cosmetics, food, and industrial solvents. It can cause local irritation of the eyes and skin. When ingested it causes nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea.
Evacuation
Once the symptoms of the toxic effects of pollution were realized, the Pasir Gudang area was immediately evacuated. Some 200 schools and kindergartens were closed for about 3 months. The area was isolated, and search for the suspected poisons in the river and surrounding factories was conducted.
According to the Straits Times, the Malaysian government has approved a one-off RM8 million (S$2.7 million) allocation for clean-up works, in addition to RM6.4 million being disbursed by Johor and a RM1 million donation by the Sultan of Johor.
Update
On 30 June 2019, 111 schools in the Pasir Gudang area were reopened after 3 months of closure. However, within hours, about 130 students in 15 schools experienced breathing difficulties, of which some 30 students and 3 staff were sent to nearby health clinics. A week later, on 7 July 2019, another 11 students from 4 schools were reported to have headaches, nausea and vomiting.
The Johor chief minister, Dr Sahruddin Jamal, said the government is studying the possibility of relocating high-risk chemical factories and creating a buffer zone between industrial and residential areas." It is suspected that many factories are still continuing to dump toxic waste into the river area.
Questions
How long has this illegal dumping been going on for?
How come there is this massive surge of toxins only recently (March 2019)?
Why has there been a second surge of respiratory and other symptoms (June 2019), after the area was supposed to have been cleaned up during the preceding 3 months?
Are there any other measures that should be taken to safeguard the health of people living or working in this area?
REFERENCES
Pasir Gudang: Hydrogen cyanide detected in nearby Tanjong Puteri: https://www.malaysiakini.com/news/468237
Pasir Gudang Chemical Spill: Facts about the 9 toxins: https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/pasir-gudang-chemical-spill-facts-about-the-9-chemicals-found-and-their-health-impact
Pasir Gudang Chemical Spill: Strange Smells: https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/environment/punggol-yishun-residents-complain-of-strange-smells
Pasir Gudang Methane Poisoning Timeline: https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asia/pasir-gudang-methane-poisoning-timeline-what-we-know-so-far-11348968
Agong expresses sympathy: number of cases seeking medical treatment risen to 4035: https://www.malaysiakini.com/news/468227
Pasir Gudang Chemical Pollution: Malaysian police arrest 9 suspects: https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asia/pasir-gudang-chemical-pollution-nine-people-nabbed-11355476
Pasir Gudang Chemical Pollution: Waste dumping still taking place nearby: https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/pasir-gudang-chemical-pollution-waste-dumping-still-taking-place
Pasir Gudang pollution: Students from 4 schools fall ill; Johor looks to relocate high-risk chemical factories
Written by Kenneth Lyen
18 March 2019, updated 9 July 2019