JOHOR BARU: A factory in Taman Desa Cemerlang, Ulu Tiram, here has been issued with a 60-day work suspension notice after sulphuric acid effluent, suspected to be from the factory, was detected at the nearby Petronas Peninsula Gas Utilisation (PGU) pipeline.
Deputy Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Hamim Samuri said the temporary suspension notice was issued by the state Department of Environment (DoE) to the electro-plating factory on July 31.
"The DoE issued the notice to stop work at the factory for a two-month or 60-day period. This is standard procedure for the factory to conduct checks and mitigation work," he told reporters after visiting the factory today.
Hamim said Petronas was conducting scheduled checks on the PGU and detected foreign substance on its pipeline, which is 3m underground and runs through an area behind the factory.
"The substance detected by Petronas was confirmed to be sulphuric acid with pH readings of between 2 and 3.
"The factory owner has emptied their effluent tank and the management is investigating how the sulphuric acid could have leaked," he said.
Johor DoE director Datuk Dr Ezanni Mat Salleh said this was the second case involving the same factory in the past year.
A court had fined the factory for RM60,000 as it was found guilty of making an illegal shortcut for the flow of untreated effluent discharge that caused a leak at the PGU pipeline on Oct 4, 2015.
