Opposition to the controversial incinerator plant in Kampung Bohol south of Kuala Lumpur continues to rage as residents and non-governmental organisations voice their fears and concerns over the potential health effects due to emission of toxic gases hazardous to humans.

At a DAP awareness forum held in a Kuala Lumpur hotel last night, environmental expert Gurmit Singh said one of the biggest hazards of incinerators is the generation of dioxin affluents in the environment.

Gurmit, who is a representative of the Environmental Protection Society Malaysia (EPSM), said the effects of dioxin are "emotional" as they are invisible until much later.

"There is also no continuous monitoring system for dioxin," he told about 80 residents, affected by the project, who attended the three-hour forum.

Unwanted byproduct

Dioxin is created as an unwanted byproduct of incineration and other industrial processes, such as pulp, paper and some pesticides.

In April 1991, the United States Environmental Protection Agency began a major "scientific re-assessment" of dioxin and discovered that its effects can be observed in human cells at the levels of exposure now present in the environment.

In January last year, the Cabinet approved the construction of the incinerator at Kampung Bohol, Puchong.

In September, Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Tengku Azlan Sultan Abu Bakar, when answering a question from Dr Tan Seng Giaw (DAP-Kepong) in parliament confirmed that the tender for the RM1.4 billion incinerator project would be finalised soon.

He also said that the cost of operation for the incinerator would be as high as RM50 million a year.

Worldwide concerns

Gurmit, who has been involved in environmental issues for 25 years, said other problems of incinerator burning include worldwide concerns like the disposal of solid wastes, ashes and sludges.

He said the government has also not explored other alternatives nor have officials made the effort to consult residents on their concerns of the environmental hazards of such a project?

"The problem is, people never learn from the past. MPs get re-elected again and again. There is very little concern for the environment. And I wonder how long you can last in this fight against the incinerator project?" he asked the participants, citing the hazards of several mega-projects such as the Bakun Dam in Sarawak.

Several resident committees have voiced their outrage over the plant, even threatening to express their protests through the ballot box as Barisan Nasional controls five of the six parliamentary seats in the vicinity of the project, with Serdang and Lembah Pantai being the worst affected.

Teresa Kok (DAP-Seputeh) holds one of the seats affected and the member of parliament has been diligently campaigning with her constituents against the incinerator.

Thousands affected

Thousands of residents are said to be affected by the plant. The Environmental Impact Assessment report says about 260,000 people live within a 5km radius of the plant. The majority are in Bukit Indah (216,400), Bukit Jalil (12,150), Kinrara (34,270) and areas within the Subang Jaya municipality.

The residents want the government to scrap the project or relocate it to a low-density area and have rejected proposals to negotiate a 'compromise' on the matter, although the offer was a reduced capacity of 600 tonnes of wastes per day.

Meanwhile, Kok (photo, left), who was one of the speakers last night, said she had not obtained any satisfactory answers from ministers regarding the matter.

Her queries on the issue in parliament met with more uncertainties, she lamented.

Kok also criticised the EIA report for not conducting a proper assessment of the people's awareness towards the project.

"They ask questions like 'do you agree or not' when it has already been admitted by consultants that the people don't know about the project. How are we going to assess their reaction?" she queried.

'Benefit someone'

Another speaker, DAP publicity secretary Ronnie Liu, suggested that the plant be relocated to Putrajaya which has a population of only 86 people.

His remark drew a loud applause from the participants when he said that a friend in Puchong has a big bungalow which he is happy to offer to Housing and Local Goverment Minister Ong Ka Ting.

"Let's see if he is willing to live in the area now that there will be a incinerator plant in the vicinity," said Liu.

He also said that the RM1.4 billion project will definitely "benefit someone" financially.

"A RM1.4 billion project, another RM50 million to run it yearly, and the plant has only a life span of 20 to 25 years, someone is definitely there to make big money out of it," Liu claimed.