Is toxic waste being used among other industrial waste material for the purpose of land-filling works in Pandamaran, Klang?

This is the question on the mind of DAP activist Ronnie Liu when he visited the three-hectare plot of land today, located at the end of the long-winding Jalan Camp road off Jalan Pandamaran near Port Klang.

Liu, who heads DAP's non-governmental organisations' bureau, said he received complaints from residents about the strange smell originating from the landfill as well as claims that the nearby Aur and Langat rivers were contaminated and had turned black.

Having lodged a report with the Klang district police headquarters this morning, Liu urged the authorities to investigate whether the land had been turned into a dump-site and whether toxic materials were amongst the waste disposed there.

At the site, Liu pointed to several containers in the area - one of which had a danger symbol indicating dangerous contents - and urged action to be taken against the company responsible.

"I want the Department of Environment to do a through search of the land and, if possible, do some digging. They have to determine whether toxic waste was dumped or not," he told reporters.

"If so, they have to seal the place and take whatever action that is necessary against those who have done wrong," he added.

'No cover up'

However, Tan Chai Huat, the contractor engaged to collect industrial waste and dump it at the site, denied that toxic waste was among the materials he was handling.

Most of the waste he collects are construction and housing materials which cannot be recycled anymore.

"I swear, I'm not covering anything up. These people (DAP) can say what they want," he told reporters.

Tan also said Klang Municipal Council (MPK) had visited the site and was aware of the activities.

In their effort to convince the media the containers did not contain any hazardous material, Tan's workers took out lumps of the thick black liquid in one of them and asserted that it was grease and oil.

State Department of Environment officials visiting the area refused to comment on the issue, and said the decision to investigate whether the containers contained toxic materials is up to their superiors.

Chicken feces

Contacted later, Klang municipal council's director for environmental affairs Wan Mohd Sofian Wan Hussain said this is the first time he has come across the allegation that toxic waste had been dumped on this land site.

He said similar claims were made in connection to another site also near Jalan Camp. Upon testings by the state Chemistry Department, it was found that the material exuding the foul smell was not hazardous.

"We found it only to be chicken feces," he said.

Wan Mohd said dumping works had stopped since the council tasked its enforcement officers to patrol the area to monitor the activities of the contractor.

Nevertheless, he promised to look into Liu's claims.

MPK director in charge of the engineering department Mohd Noor Mahmud revealed that action was taken against the company which owned the land for performing land-filling works using waste materials without the express permission of MPK.

He said a total of four compound fines were issued to the company over the land-filling works. MPK has yet to receive any response from the company, which may result in it being slapped with up to RM250,000.

When contacted, Pandamaran state assembly person Teh Kim Poo said he has no information regarding the claims made by Liu.