2019 Kim Kim River Toxic Pollution
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The 2019 Kim Kim River toxic pollution is a
water pollution Water pollution (or aquatic pollution) is the contamination of Body of water, water bodies, with a negative impact on their uses. It is usually a result of human activities. Water bodies include lakes, rivers, oceans, aquifers, reservoirs and ...
incident that occurred on 7 March 2019 caused by illegal
chemical waste Chemical waste is any excess, unused, or unwanted chemical. Chemical waste may be classified as hazardous waste, non-hazardous waste, universal waste, or household hazardous waste, each of which is regulated separately by national government ...
dumping at the Kim Kim River in
Pasir Gudang Pasir Gudang is a city located in eastern Johor Bahru District, Johor, which is the second largest district in Malaysia by population. The main industries are transportation and logistics, shipbuilding, petrochemicals and other heavy industries ...
of
Johor Johor, also spelled Johore,'' is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia in the south of the Malay Peninsula. It borders with Pahang, Malacca and Negeri Sembilan to the north. Johor has maritime borders with Singapore ...
in
Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...
. The illegal dumping released toxic fumes, affecting 6,000 people and hospitalising 2,775. Most of the victims were school students—110 schools located near the river were subsequently closed.


Background of pollution

The incident started on 7 March 2019 after several students and
canteen Canteen most often refers to: * Canteen (bottle), a water container * Cafeteria, a type of food service location within an institution in which there is little or no waiting staff table service * A complete set of cutlery comprising knives, forks, ...
workers from two schools near the river began to fall ill and complaining of breathing difficulties. Both schools were ordered to shut down and all the victims were sent to
Sultan Ismail Hospital Sultan Ismail Hospital () is a government funded district general hospital in Taman Mount Austin, Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia. There is named in honour of Sultan Ismail of Johor Sultan Sir Ismail Al-Khalidi Ibni Almarhum Sultan Sir Ibrahim ...
while investigations were being carried out by state health authorities over the cause. Twenty-one people were warded at the hospital with some being admitted into the emergency unit and
intensive care unit An intensive care unit (ICU), also known as an intensive therapy unit or intensive treatment unit (ITU) or critical care unit (CCU), is a special department of a hospital or health care facility that provides intensive care medicine. An inten ...
(ICU). Some of the students brought to the hospital were already fainted and with symptoms such as vomiting. Those who were not seriously affected were given outpatient treatment and allowed to return home. During recovery, some of the seriously affected victims shared their experience of suddenly being ill after inhaling unpleasant
odour An odor (American English) or odour (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English; American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, see spelling differences) is a smell or a scent caused by one or more volatilized ...
in their school compound. The number of victims hospitalised over the toxic fumes rose to 76 on the following day and on 9 March 2019, five police reports have been made on the issue with police began investigating the case.


Further spread of toxic fumes and water pollution

On 11 March, the second wave of air poisoning took effect with further 106–207 victims hospitalised before escalating into more than 1,000 victims with eight admitted into the ICU. The spread of the toxic fumes was aided by hot weather combined with strong winds, which made more people sick. The
Malaysian Fire and Rescue Department The Fire and Rescue Department of Malaysia (, Jawi: ), commonly known as Bomba, is a federal agency of Malaysia responsible for firefighting and technical rescue. ''Bomba'' is a Malay word derived from the Portuguese ''bombeiros'' which mea ...
director-general Mohammad Hamdan Wahid explained that the further spread of toxic fumes could have been prevented if the illegally dumped chemicals found earlier were immediately removed. However, the authorities did not dispose the chemicals after concluding it was no longer reactive, allegedly due to the costs involved. Until 19 March, further 76 police reports have been made. On 20 June, about 3 months since the pollution first discovered, a number of students from schools in the Pasir Gudang area began complaining of
nausea Nausea is a diffuse sensation of unease and discomfort, sometimes perceived as an urge to vomit. It can be a debilitating symptom if prolonged and has been described as placing discomfort on the chest, abdomen, or back of the throat. Over 30 d ...
,
dizziness Dizziness is an imprecise term that can refer to a sense of disorientation in space, vertigo, or lightheadedness. It can also refer to Balance disorder, disequilibrium or a non-specific feeling, such as giddiness or foolishness. Dizziness is a ...
and experienced vomiting which eventually led to the temporary closure of the schools in the area. The authorities later confirmed it as the third wave of air poisoning resulted from the river pollution, which were not fully cleared. In August 2019, residents in Acheh's Well Village near the Daing and Kopok rivers (
tributaries A tributary, or an ''affluent'', is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream ('' main stem'' or ''"parent"''), river, or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries, and the main stem river into which the ...
to the Kim Kim River) complained that the water in both rivers have turned black and oily with unbearable foul stench which were believed to have spread from the chemical pollution of the Kim Kim River. A resident interviewed on the issue said the rivers were once homes to various
crab Crabs are decapod crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura (meaning "short tailed" in Greek language, Greek), which typically have a very short projecting tail-like abdomen#Arthropoda, abdomen, usually hidden entirely under the Thorax (arthropo ...
s,
freshwater fish Freshwater fish are fish species that spend some or all of their lives in bodies of fresh water such as rivers, lakes, ponds and inland wetlands, where the salinity is less than 1.05%. These environments differ from marine habitats in many wa ...
and
shrimp A shrimp (: shrimp (American English, US) or shrimps (British English, UK)) is a crustacean with an elongated body and a primarily Aquatic locomotion, swimming mode of locomotion – typically Decapods belonging to the Caridea or Dendrobranchi ...
s with children used to swim in, but everything has been damaged since the pollution turned worse in April.


Investigation, clearance works and arrestment of perpetrators

Through investigations, it was believed that the chemical wastes were dumped from a lorry tanker into the Kim Kim River in the early morning hours, on the same day before the victims fell ill. Agencies dispatched for the cleaning-up operation of the polluted river collected 2.43 tonnes of chemical waste on the day the incident was reported. The cleaning works, however, worsened the chemical reaction, as the contractor engaged was not experienced in dealing with chemical wastes. A
Chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear Chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear defense (CBRN defense) or Nuclear, biological, and chemical protection (NBC protection) is a class of protective measures taken in situations where chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclea ...
(CBRN) team from the 12th Squadron of the Royal Army Engineers Regiment of
Malaysian Armed Forces The Malaysian Armed Forces (: MAF; ; Jawi alphabet, Jawi: ), are the armed forces of Malaysia, consists of three branches; the Malaysian Army, Royal Malaysian Navy and the Royal Malaysian Air Force. The number of MAF active personnel is 113,000 ...
was later dispatched to assist in the chemical cleaning efforts together with a Hazmat team. The Johor Department of Environment (DOE) arrested an owner of a chemical factory in
Kulai Kulai is a town and the capital of Kulai District, Johor, Malaysia. It is administered by the Kulai Municipal Council (MPKu), which was earlier known as the Kulai District Council. Kulai is surveyed as one of the happiest cities in Malaysi ...
on 10 March followed by another arrest involving shredded waste factory owner and one of its workers in Taman Pasir Puteh on the following day after a series of investigations. With the arrests, the DOE completed its investigation papers and were sent to the public prosecutor for further action, with the investigators also have identified the illegally dumped chemical as
marine oil Fish oil is oil derived from the tissues of oily fish. Fish oils contain the omega−3 fatty acids eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), precursors of certain eicosanoids that are known to reduce inflammation in the body ...
that emitted flammable
methane Methane ( , ) is a chemical compound with the chemical formula (one carbon atom bonded to four hydrogen atoms). It is a group-14 hydride, the simplest alkane, and the main constituent of natural gas. The abundance of methane on Earth makes ...
and
benzene Benzene is an Organic compound, organic chemical compound with the Chemical formula#Molecular formula, molecular formula C6H6. The benzene molecule is composed of six carbon atoms joined in a planar hexagonal Ring (chemistry), ring with one hyd ...
fumes. The oil is categorised as a scheduled waste and needs proper disposal due to its hazardous nature. On 17 March, nine more people were arrested by the police in connection to the case; two arrested in
Johor Bahru Johor Bahru, abbreviated as JB, is the capital city of the Malaysian state of Johor. It is the core city of Johor Bahru District, Malaysia's second-largest district by population and the second-largest district economy. Covering an area of ...
while seven were arrested outside the Johor Bahru area. Two key suspects, believed to be instrumental in arranging for the transportation of the toxic substances, were arrested on 19 March, bringing the total arrests to 11 with one suspect later released under bail after he is proven to be unrelated to the case. The cleaning operation of the 1.5 kilometre stretch of the affected river was completed in the same day, where a total of 900 tonnes of soil and 1,500 tonnes of polluted water were cleaned. Several other identified toxic gases emitted (following the interaction of the chemicals concerned with water and air) include
acrolein Acrolein (systematic name: propenal) is the simplest unsaturated aldehyde. It is a colorless liquid with a foul and acrid aroma. The smell of burnt fat (as when cooking oil is heated to its smoke point) is caused by glycerol in the burning fat ...
,
acrylonitrile Acrylonitrile is an organic compound with the formula and the structure . It is a colorless, volatile liquid. It has a pungent odor of garlic or onions. Its molecular structure consists of a vinyl group () linked to a nitrile (). It is an im ...
,
ethylbenzene Ethylbenzene is an organic compound with the formula . It is a highly flammable, colorless liquid with an odor similar to that of gasoline. This monocyclic aromatic hydrocarbon is important in the petrochemical industry as a reaction intermediat ...
,
hydrogen chloride The Chemical compound, compound hydrogen chloride has the chemical formula and as such is a hydrogen halide. At room temperature, it is a colorless gas, which forms white fumes of hydrochloric acid upon contact with atmospheric water vapor. Hyd ...
,
D-limonene Limonene () is a colorless liquid aliphatic hydrocarbon classified as a cyclic monoterpene, and is the major component in the essential oil of citrus fruit peels. The (+)-isomer, occurring more commonly in nature as the fragrance of oranges, ...
,
toluene Toluene (), also known as toluol (), is a substituted aromatic hydrocarbon with the chemical formula , often abbreviated as , where Ph stands for the phenyl group. It is a colorless, water Water is an inorganic compound with the c ...
and
xylene In organic chemistry, xylene or xylol (; IUPAC name: dimethylbenzene) are any of three organic compounds with the formula . They are derived from the substitution of two hydrogen atoms with methyl groups in a benzene ring; which hydrogens are su ...
, which if inhaled, can cause
headache A headache, also known as cephalalgia, is the symptom of pain in the face, head, or neck. It can occur as a migraine, tension-type headache, or cluster headache. There is an increased risk of Depression (mood), depression in those with severe ...
, nausea, fainting and breathing difficulty. Two main suspects (a Singaporean and a Malaysian) were charged at the
Sessions Court A Sessions Court or even known as the Court of Sessions Judge is a court of law which exists in several Commonwealth countries. A Court of Session is the highest criminal court in a district and the court of first instance for trying serious of ...
in Johor on 25 March for illegal disposal of chemicals into the river and their company, P Tech Resources was slapped with 15 charges to which they pleaded not guilty. Both have been charged earlier in the same court for conspiring with a lorry driver to dispose the scheduled wastes into the river.


Government and health authorities response

Johor's Sultan Ibrahim Ismail urged for an immediate action against the perpetrators involved in this pollution that endangered public lives while expressing his appreciation for the medical teams which had been working tirelessly to treat the victims in hospital. The Sultan has pledged a total of RM1 million (around
US$ The United States dollar (Currency symbol, symbol: Dollar sign, $; ISO 4217, currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and International use of the U.S. dollar, several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introdu ...
250,000) towards helping rescue agencies and authorities to gather the necessary means and equipment to resolve the matter, meanwhile expressing his view that the incident shows the need for a government hospital to be built in Pasir Gudang. Prime Minister
Mahathir Mohamad Mahathir bin Mohamad (; ; born 10 July 1925) is a Malaysian politician, author and doctor who was respectively the fourth and seventh Prime Minister of Malaysia, prime minister of Malaysia from 1981 to 2003 and from 2018 to 2020. He was the ...
and Deputy Prime Minister
Wan Azizah Wan Ismail Wan Azizah binti Wan Ismail ( Jawi: وان عزيزة بنت وان إسماعيل; born 3 December 1952) is a Malaysian politician who has served as Spouse of the Prime Minister of Malaysia as the wife of Anwar Ibrahim, Member of Parliamen ...
visited victims of the pollution at the hospital in
Johor Bahru Johor Bahru, abbreviated as JB, is the capital city of the Malaysian state of Johor. It is the core city of Johor Bahru District, Malaysia's second-largest district by population and the second-largest district economy. Covering an area of ...
on 14 March, and said that the situation was "under control" where residents are not necessary to be evacuated from the area and also that there is a need to review the country's Environmental Quality Act 1974 in light of the serious pollution. The
federal government A federation (also called a federal state) is an entity characterized by a political union, union of partially federated state, self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a #Federal governments, federal government (federalism) ...
has approved an allocation of RM8 million for river purification works and has ordered various agencies including the police, military and Hazmat teams to support the situation in the affected area. They explained that there was no request for a
state of emergency A state of emergency is a situation in which a government is empowered to put through policies that it would normally not be permitted to do, for the safety and protection of its citizens. A government can declare such a state before, during, o ...
received from the state government of Johor. Johor's ''
Menteri Besar head of government, Heads of government in Malaysia's many states of Malaysia, states take on various titles. Seven out of nine in the Peninsular Malaysia, Peninsular who each have Monarchies of Malaysia, historical monarchs are known as the Men ...
''
Osman Sapian Osman bin Sapian (; 25 December 1951 – 21 December 2021) was a Malaysian politician who served as the 16th Menteri Besar of Johor from May 2018 to his resignation in April 2019 and Member of the Johor State Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Kem ...
were in the opinion that the situation is under control without the need to declare a state of emergency in the area, with the state government having approved an emergency allocation of RM6.4 million for cleaning up the affected river. Malaysia's Environment Minister
Yeo Bee Yin Yeo Bee Yin (; born 26 May 1983) is a Malaysian politician and field engineer who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Puchong since November 2022. She served as the Minister of Energy, Science, Technology, Environment and Climate C ...
stressed that investigation will be carried out to bring those responsible to justice and explained that the RM6.4 million is mainly used to clear the 1.5 kilometre stretch of the affected river with further cost expected to balloon to over RM10 million. The state government also dismissed claims that its agencies were slow to react over the incident. The State Health Department had also warned the public not to circulate fake news, with an ongoing one saying deaths had been resulted from the pollution. On 1 June, Malaysia's Health Ministry formed a medical team, which consists of officers from the Institute for Medical Research and Johor Health Department, to examine a total of 6,000 victims affected by the pollution . Malaysia's Water, Land and Natural Resources Minister
Xavier Jayakumar Arulanandam Xavier Jayakumar a/l Arulanandam (; born 1953) is a Malaysian politician and dentist who served as Minister of Water, Land and Natural Resources in the Pakatan Harapan (PH) administration under former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad from Jul ...
urged every state governments to take serious measures to overcome river pollution as climate change could cause the country to experience long periods of drought in the future. The ministry also drafted a Water Resources Bill to clamp down on water pollution. Neighbouring authorities in
Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...
continue to monitor the situation following the reports of more illegal waste dumping sites found in Pasir Gudang. Various Singapore agencies have been conducting regular checks with a minister explained that they were taking the matter very seriously as what happened in Malaysia can affect Singapore significantly.


Criticism of government response and lawsuits

Johor's Crown Prince
Tunku Ismail Idris Major General Tunku Ismail ibni Sultan Ibrahim (; born 30 June 1984), is the heir apparent to the Johor throne. He is the eldest son of Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar and Raja Zarith Sofiah. Ismail is the Regent (Pemangku Sultan) and Crown Prince ...
took the matter to
Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...
to express his opinion that the government should have instead declared a state of emergency on the day it first occurred and relocated residents to a temporary place until there was a guarantee that the area was safe.
Malaysian Chinese Association The Malaysian Chinese Association (Abbreviation, abbrev: MCA; Malay language, Malay: ''Persatuan Cina Malaysia''), formerly known as the Malayan Chinese Association, is an ethnic List of political parties in Malaysia, political party in Malaysi ...
(MCA) Deputy President
Mah Hang Soon Mah Hang Soon (, Bàng-uâ-cê: ''Mā Háng-sông''; ; born 19 July 1965) is a Malaysian politician who served as Deputy Minister of Education I for the second term in the Barisan Nasional (BN) administration under former Prime Minister Ismai ...
said that the incompetent preventive measures escalated the hazard levels in the involved area. In July 2019, a boy was reported to have developed Parkinson's-like disease of
myokymia Myokymia is an involuntary, spontaneous, localized quivering of a few muscles, or bundles within a muscle, but which are insufficient to move a joint. One type is superior oblique myokymia. Myokymia is commonly used to describe an involuntary ey ...
after being exposed to the pollution, although this was denied by Malaysia's Deputy Health Minister
Lee Boon Chye Lee Boon Chye ( zh, s=李文材, p=Lǐ Wéncái; born 26 September 1959) is a Malaysian politician who served as the Deputy Minister of Health in the Pakatan Harapan (PH) administration under former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad and former ...
who said that the boy was born premature and had a history of fits since he was four. A group of 160 victims of the pollution then began to file a suit and taking the Johor ''Menteri Besar'' along with the state government to court to seek monetary compensation for the boy and other damages caused by the illegal dumping of toxic chemicals.


Other responses

A chemical company Lotte Chemical Titan Holdings Bhd had denied rumours that they are involved in the pollution of Kim Kim River. In a statement to
Bursa Malaysia Bursa Malaysia (English: Malaysian Bourses or Malaysia Exchange) is the stock exchange in Malaysia. It is one of the largest bourses in ASEAN. It is based in Kuala Lumpur and was previously known as the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange (KLSE). It p ...
, Lotte Chemical Titan stated in detail: "The company hereby denies rumours and wishes to announce that it has no involvement with the incident". Malaysian singer expressed concern over the incident as her parents live in the affected area where she also persuaded her parents to leave their homes, worrying of the reoccurrence of the incident.


See also

*
Water pollution Water pollution (or aquatic pollution) is the contamination of Body of water, water bodies, with a negative impact on their uses. It is usually a result of human activities. Water bodies include lakes, rivers, oceans, aquifers, reservoirs and ...
*
Chernobyl disaster On 26 April 1986, the no. 4 reactor of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, located near Pripyat, Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union (now Ukraine), exploded. With dozens of direct casualties, it is one of only ...
*
Bhopal disaster On 3 December 1984, over 500,000 people in the vicinity of the Union Carbide India Limited pesticide plant in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India were exposed to the highly toxic gas methyl isocyanate, in what is considered the world's worst ind ...


Further reading

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References


External links


Illegal chemical disposal case at Kim Kim River, Pasir Gudang
– Press release from the Department of Environment, Malaysia
Pasir Gudang Municipal Council Press Release
– Recent information on the Kim Kim River pollution from the Government of Johor {{DEFAULTSORT:Kim Kim River toxic pollution, 2019 2019 in Malaysia Environmental issues in Malaysia Water in Malaysia Water pollution Health disasters in Malaysia Man-made disasters in Malaysia March 2019 crimes in Asia 2019 disasters in Malaysia Waste disposal incidents