JOHOR BARU: A total of 2.43 tonnes of chemical wastes were collected from Sungai Kim Kim in Pasir Gudang during the cleaning process on the day the incident was reported on March 7.
Johor Health, Environment and Agriculture Committee chairman Dr Sahruddin Jamal said the amount was collected on the first day, so there is no question of the state government and the relevant agencies being late in taking action in the incident.
"The authorities received a report on the incident at 5.15am on March 7 and immediate response was taken, especially by the Fire and Rescue Department.
"The location where the chemicals were dumped was identified at 9.30am. Initial cleaning works were carried out by several agencies on site," Dr Sahruddin told a press conference at the state disaster management committee operations room at the Pasir Gudang Municipal Council (MPPG) headquarters.
He, however, said the cleaning works had to be stopped on the second day (March 8) following information from the Department of Environment that the chemical waste was dangerous and required a cleaning method that meets safety regulations.
"Cleaning works were restarted yesterday by a contractor who is an expert in managing scheduled chemical materials.
"At the moment, the air quality level is normal but this could change depending on the weather," said Dr Sahruddin.
He said a total of 947 victims had received treatment since the incident was reported.
"Of that total, 209 victims were hospitalised in four hospitals in the district while eight were admitted to the intensive care unit at the Sultan Ismail Hospital.
"All the victims were given treatment and those in the ICU are stable," said Dr Sahruddin.