I had asked the state government of Selangor to make public the Health Department’s report and chemical content of the eight ponds used to transfer mine-water to Sungai Selangor.
In its briefing, Executive Councilor Dr Ahmad Yunus Hairi indicated that from samples taken so far from the Hang Tuah pond at Bestari Jaya, showed that it met health standards. And thus mine water from Bestari Jaya will be channeled to Sungai Selangor.
Two recent academic studies contradict the position taken by the state government.
A June 2010 study entitled ‘Study of Water Quality and Heavy Metals in Soil & Water of Ex-Mining Area Bestari Jaya, Peninsular Malaysia’ suggests that most of physio-chemical parameters and metals concentration found in Bestari Jaya exceeds the permissible limits set by Malaysian Water Quality Standards.
The authors note with alarm, the level of degradation in the quality of water and severe heavy metal pollution in Bestari Jaya mining pond. This spawns a major environmental challenge to the ecosystem and pollution possibilities to Sungai Selangor, the end recipient.
A 2012 study by the same authors entitled ‘Speciation of Heavy Metals in the Sediments of Former Tin Mining Cathcment’ analyzing the Bestari Jaya ex-mining pond showed that sediments were polluted with arsenic (8.8%), chromium (12.9%), copper (17.4%), lead (19.5%), zinc (14.9) and tin (33.8%).
The study shows that Bestari Jaya mine ponds are faced with heavy metal pollution with intensity levels between moderate to very high. The significance of this is that these heavy metals posits a high environmental and human risk.
Both these recent studies confirm that Bestari Jaya mine-water faces heavy metal pollution and water degradation. Thus transferring Bestari Jaya polluted mine- water to Sungai Selangor amounts to polluting the latter. And treatment plants cannot treat or clean heavy metal or toxic pollution. This has implications for public health.
There is no evidence to show that the Bestari Jaya pond was rehabilitated or treated since its closure.
Thus I reiterate my earlier call to the Selangor state government to make public, the Health Department’s report and chemical content report in the interests of public health, transparency and good governance.
*The authors of both the studies are Muhammad Ashraf Aqeel, Mohd Jamil and Ismail bin Yusuf from the Department of Chemistry and Department of Geology, University Malaya.
SOURCE: a) International Journal of Basic & Applied Sciences;Jun2010, Vol. 10 Issue 3, p7;
b) Iranian Journal of Science and Technology.