PASIR GUDANG: The district education office has ordered schools in Pasir Gudang to suspend outdoor activities following high ammonia gas readings in Sungai Pandan, Kampung Melayu Pandan, yesterday.
Pasir Gudang is about 20km from Sungai Pandan, where a strong chemical odour was detected.
A notice issued by the Pasir Gudang district education office yesterday instructed principals to monitor students and teachers' health conditions.
It also urged schools to get approval from the district education office before resuming outdoor activities.
State Education and Information Committee chairman Aznan Tamin said the notice, which was shared on parent-teacher association WhatsApp groups, was a precautionary measure to heighten vigilance.
He said parents and guardians should monitor their children's health and seek immediate medical treatment if they noticed any symptoms of dizziness, nausea or vomiting.
The notice also addressed residents' concerns of a recurrence of the Sungai Kim Kim chemical pollution in Pasir Gudang in 2019.
On March 13, 2019, more than 2,000 residents suffered dizziness, with 947 residents admitted to hospital and nine in the intensive care unit. Some 111 schools were ordered to close following the discovery of toxic waste dumped into the river.
The district education office, in the notice, said schools must immediately report to their 24-hour disaster operation room if they detected any usual odour.
A strong chemical smell was first reported in three housing estates in Johor Baru, namely Taman Daya, Mount Austin and Taman Istimewa.
As a precaution, activities at Tabika Kemas Kampung Melayu Pandan, which has 75 children and all afternoon religious school sessions were suspended.
A father of four, who wished to remain anonymous, said parents have been in jitters since yesterday when residents in three housing estates complained of chemical odour.
"Some families moved out of the district immediately.
"My wife and I called in sick, and left for Batu Pahat with our children to my in-laws' home."
At 4pm yesterday, the Johor Environment Department detected unusually high levels of ammonia gas in Sungai Pandan and the surrounding area of Kampung Melayu Pandan here.
However, the air quality readings returned to normal at 1am today.