The Fire and Rescue Department has announced that it sees operations in and around Kuantan, Pahang to clear the area of bauxite waste to last until early February.
Fire and Rescue Department director-general Wan Mohd Noor Ibrahim told Bernama that to date, 30% of the pollutants in the area has already been cleaned up.
“We have succeeded in washing about five per cent of the area daily and the entire task is expected to be over by early next month,” he said.
Wan Mohd Noor added that after the cleanup operations, standard operating procedures (SOPs) would be put in place to ensure the affected areas would not be polluted again by runoff from nearby bauxite mining operations.
“If bauxite mining areas were to start operations again after this, SOPs should be in place so that the areas would be free from bauxite pollution,” he said.
All bauxite mining operations in Pahang are under a three-month moratorium which began on January 15.
