The impact of bauxite mining is both short-term and long-term, and it is affecting not just the public health, but also the environment and the livelihood of the people.
New Straits Times(NST) needs to be credited for its expose and also its efforts of independent investigations, which they have been doing since August 2015.
The response of the BN Federal and State government was to try to just narrowly focus attention on the issue of radiation poisoning - and not also focus on the other chemical poisoning happening - arsenic, magnesium, etc..
Even the Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Datuk Wilfred Madius Tangau response was narrow - looking just at the question of radiation poisoning.
NST never faltered but has continued to highlight this issue - this time the investigation and report of a group of 17 professionals who also called for the Pahang government to issue an immediate stop work order on bauxite mining.
Interestingly, it seems that the bauxite mining operation may end or significantly slow done next year - is it then that the BN government will take action?
We expect the government to safeguard our health, our environment and also livelihood - and there are laws that stipulate what are the 'safe limits', and this really should never be ignored.
Companies always can 'disappear' or 'wind-up' after large profits are made - their record of accountability is not good. Who will compensate those that have suffered healthwise - noting that some of these diseases can also surface later on? Who will be compensating the fishermen who already say that their income and livelihood is already affected? Who will be responsible for the cost to 're-habilitate' the environment - most likely the Malaysian people may end up paying for this?
The Pahang government, when the issue was highlighted, also tried to blame those lorries transporting the ore - stating even that summons have been issued. But now, the authorities apparently are saying that most of these summonses have been ignored. Note many of these summons were traffic summons or the using of vehicles without permits.
There are so many Ministries looking into Health, Environment, Rural Development, Tourism, Agriculture,... but alas, we are not seeing their investigation and reports on this issue..
Bauxite can be mined - and there are safe ways of doing this - which will cause little or no impact to public heath or environment - but they will cost money, and these companies and others who benefit from this bauxite mining operation seem 'disinterested', and the BN Pahang and Federal government also seem not so concerned.
We must try to prevent negative impacts to health and environment - and not take the position, that we will do the needful later to remedy or compensate. One would prefer not to get cancer, asthma, lower respiratory tract infections, pneumonia, chronic bronchitis and emphysema, etc - I am for prevention not treatment/compensation.
There are many more news reports in NST and media on this issue, over the last few days, and I have only pasted one of these articles below..
See some of the earlier related posts:-
Bauxite Mining Pahang:Seafood and Vege from Kuantan?Arsenic/Magnesium Poisoning? Safe for Consumption?
Pahang:- Fish high arsenic levels? - Suspend Bauxite Mining Now - Health More Important than Money??
Bauxite - Pahang BN state government ignoring welfare of the people? Safe mining procedures?
Red Threat - Are Malaysians still being poisoned with arsenic, etc because government not bothered?
Bauxite affecting Kuantan children's health - When will PM Najib act?
Kuantan facing severe danger
By Farrah Naz Karim And Aliza Shah
- 3 January 2016 @ 11:03 AM KUALA LUMPUR:
A team of scientists has warned that the damage to the
environment from the indiscriminate and poorly regulated mining of
bauxite may be so severe that the ecosystem may never recover.
The adverse health effects on the Kuantan public could be devastating,
and could last for generations.
The group of 17 professionals covering a diverse array of environmental
disciplines have called for the Pahang government to issue an immediate
stop work order on bauxite mining in the district.
This marked the first time that a group of independent scientists had
arrived at a consensus and issued a dire and comprehensive warning of
the consequences of the unrestrained mining of bauxite in the state.
Calling itself Responsible Citizens of Malaysia and Conscientious
Professionals and Scientists, the group cautioned that Kuantan would
suffer long-term health and environmental consequences if the
authorities ignored the seven conditions it said must be imposed on
every bauxite mine and mining operator.
It stressed that a moratorium on all the activities must be enforced
with immediate effect, saying that this was vital to mitigate the
damage.
Among the recommendations that came with the report on the grave
situation in Kuantan was the requirement for miners to produce an
Erosion Sediment Control Plan (ESCP), which must be a part of an
Environmental Monitoring Plan that is closely and diligently monitored.
The miners, they said, must also come up with a rehabilitation plan once
the mining ceases. It was reported that the mining of bauxite would go
on at least until next year.
Their comprehensive, 14-page report on the unfolding disaster stemming
from poorly regulated open cast mining of bauxite, which was made
exclusively available to the New Sunday Times, also touched extensively
on how transportation of the resource not only posed a serious public
health threat, but is also causing irreversible environmental damage.
They reported that the export of bauxite to China had more than
quadrupled, from 208,770 tonnes in 2013 to 963,000 tonnes in 2014.
Last
year, it hit a staggering 20 million tonnes. In January of last year,
the amount of ore exported was just 343,000 tonnes.
By September, the
number had risen to an astounding 3.7 million tonnes. All at the expense
of a suffering Kuantan public, forced to choke on the red dust.
The NST had, in early August, collected water, marine life and dust
samples in Kuantan for independent laboratory analyses. The results were
startling.
At least two other agencies which followed up on the NST’s
series of reports on the problem came up with equally worrying findings.
The authorities, which were supposed to keep the problem in check, have
so far not yielded any positive results.
Their only success to date is reflected in the number of summonses
issued to bauxite lorry drivers, although the issuing authority admitted
that these tickets were largely ignored.
A large portion of the blame
had been dumped on illegal miners.
The NST was made to understand that the group of scientists, whose
members had stationed themselves in Kuantan for a few weeks to study the
problem which had besieged the city for more than a year, was expected
to forward their report to the state government soon.
The report comes
with a recommended action plan.
“It is our professional duty and responsibility to objectively and
scientifically assess the environmental and human conditions related to
this bauxite mining issue and present our recommendations for corrective
and remedial measures,” the experts said.
The scientists said their discovery that ore processing outside of the
mineral tenement area, including bauxite-washing that was being done
close to water sources, was a cause for grave concern.
The concern, they said, was real as rivers were being barricaded and
dammed up to facilitate washing of the ore to concentrate its bauxite
content.
They added that the stability of these structures, if
compromised, could result in serious repercussions to the downstream
areas when mud and sediment come gushing down.
“This very real risk is amplified during the rainy season as the volume
of water increases.”
This, they said, was in addition to the issue of several water intake
points being downstream of many bauxite mines.
They underscored the risk
of heavy metals, including arsenic, mercury and aluminium, as well as
other pollutants, entering the rivers during rain.
The effects on aquatic life in Pahang’s rivers, including the more than
400 species of freshwater fishes, five species of terrapins and numerous
species of invertebrates and aquatic plants, can only be guessed.
“While the present situation is disturbing enough, its longer term
persistence would mean that there would be no scope for the affected
waterways to return to their original state. The changes would be so
extreme that the fundamental habitat qualities that support our local
biodiversity would be lost and we would be left with a degraded
ecosystem,” they cautioned.
The group also revealed that they had, on Dec 26 and 27, monitored the
24-hour PM10 levels in Bukit Goh, Beserah (just outside residents’
homes), and the Gebeng Industrial Estate, adjacent to Kuantan Port.
The result: the 24-hour PM10 levels recorded outside the houses were at
222.13 g/m3 (Bukit Goh) and 164.05 g/m3 (Beserah).
The sampling carried out in Gebeng showed a reading of 276.79μg/m3. All
three exceeded the standard levels underlined under the 24-hour
Malaysian Ambient Air Quality Standard for PM10, which is 150 μg/m3.
Samples at the house in Beserah, located close to a bauxite mine and
along a bauxite transport route, were taken on a day when the
transportation of bauxite had ceased.
PM10 dust can easily penetrate the human lower respiratory tract and
cause or trigger respiratory problems like asthma, lower respiratory
tract infections, pneumonia, chronic bronchitis and emphysema.
Depending
on the chemical content of the PM10 dust, they may also experience
other health problems.
The scientists highlighted the NST’s August reports on the high levels
of arsenic in fish caught in Sungai Pengorak.
The arsenic content of
three fish samples ranged from 70.8 to 104.5g/kg, more than a staggering
70,000 times the permissible limit for arsenic in fish and fishery
products of 1mg/kg, under the Malaysian Food Regulation 1985.
“We should be reminded that the lack of evidence of destruction and harm
to the environment and humans should not be used as an excuse not to
act or to delay action.
“When there is potential harm to the environment or humans, we should be
proactive and not reactive in our approach.
“This approach of harm avoidance is based on the Precautionary
Principle, which states that when human activities may lead to morally
unacceptable harm that is scientifically plausible but uncertain,
actions shall be taken to avoid or diminish that harm.”
They said the authorities should not dismiss such reports without
investigating for themselves.
“A recent news report in the NST (Dec 29) showed a disturbing photo of a
young man collecting clams (remis) from the bauxite-contaminated Sungai
Pengorak and two children playing in the bauxite-contaminated sea
waters off Batu Hitam beach.
“If heavy metals are present in the river water as we strongly suspect,
they will be easily concentrated in the clams, which are bivalves and
filter feeders.
“Wading and swimming in the contaminated waters are also dangerous as
heavy metals in the water can penetrate human skin, eyes and mucous
linings. Swimmers will also ingest water,” they warned.
While the state authorities have played down the risks posed by bauxite
mining, the state Fisheries Department had, on Dec 31, warned the public
against consuming seafood obtained from bauxite-contaminated waters off
Pahang.
Its director, Adnan Hussain Adnan, also advised against fishing, which
he said was not suitable in these areas due to the high level of
turbidity.
It is understood that the group will also forward their
report to Putrajaya.
“It is absolutely imperative that the state government address the
issues by controlling every single mining operation at the source.
Only
then can they be made sustainable in the long run.
“A populated area cannot be transformed into a huge mining area without
serious consequences to the population of 400,000.
“The state government cannot abdicate its responsibility to look after
the well-being and health of these people.
“Justifying extensive mining in a well-populated area simply because
they give income to a small group of people is totally wrong and unheard
of in this day and age.
“In developed countries, this will undoubtedly result in civil suits,”
they said. - New Straits Times, 3/1/2015
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