Scientists warn that eating shellfish from Malaysia’s west coast could lead to heavy metal poisoning

via Wikimedia Commons
via Wikimedia Commons

A team of scientists lead by a senior lecturer from Universiti Malaysia Terengganu’s (UMT) School of Marine and Environmental Sciences department made an unsettling discovery after a research trip took them through the waters of Peninsular Malaysia’s east and west coasts: Those consuming shellfish from the waters off of the Straits of Malacca must drastically cut down how much they eat, or face heavy metal poisoning.

Associate Professor Dr. Ong Meng Chuan, along with a team of 25 marine biologists, discovered unusually high concentrations of arsenic, cadium, plumbum and mercury in the waters, estuaries, and harbors throughout the Straits of Malacca, that run the length of Malaysia’s west coast. These saturated waters affect the waters wildlife, especially shellfish that settle in one place and do not migrate to look for food.

In particular, the waters off of the built-up areas of Johor, Port Klang, and Penang were found to have the heaviest levels of contamination during the team’s field research, which saw them cover 45 stations along two shipping routes, both the Straits and the South China Sea, between March 13 – 22.

Slower river currents in estuary waters allow for the heavier metals to sink more easily, and accumulate on the riverbed. Shallower waters in the Straits, along with heavy industrial activity throughout the area’s ports have meant that the levels are far more concentrated than along Malaysia’s east coast waters.

Once shellfish enter the human food chain, those that consume them are at serious risk of long term health consequences.

“Heavy metal bioaccumulation takes a long time to be detected. The build-up from eating arsenic- or mercury-contaminated food can lead to various disorders,” Ong told Bernama.

Symptoms can range from acute poisoning, leading to general confusion, numbness, potential unconsciousness, to other levels of illness, resulting in headaches, muscle pain, constipation, and other malaise.

Ong and his team have called for the government to step in, and begin enforcing laws that we already have that protect marine life, adding that heavier penalties and tougher sentences might dissuade would-be polluters.

“We don’t want another Sungai Kim Kim incident,” he added forebodingly. The recent dumping of toxic waste in a Johor-area river affected the health of nearly 6,000 nearby residents, forcing school closures and wide-spread suffering.



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