Malaysia cordons off contaminated area

Malaysia cordons off contaminated area

KUALA LUMPUR (AFP): Malaysian authorities cordoned off an area
around a northern island resort where 41 drums of lethal
potassium cyanide had been illegally dumped, but said yesterday
that contamination had been contained.

Environment Minister Law Hieng Ding briefed the cabinet on the
situation off the island of Pangkor at a weekly meeting, saying
there was no cause for panic as the lethal waste was discovered
early and "the situation was under control."

"The cabinet was briefed today on the whole situation,"
Lawrence Sii, Law's spokesman, told AFP.

Law said Tuesday that the "incident is not serious enough to
declare the whole Pangkor island off limits. This is because it
was detected early and the damage is in a restricted area, now
under close 24-hour surveillance."

"We will prosecute the culprits when we gather sufficient
evidence," Law said.

Environmentalists yesterday demanded that those responsible
for the dumping of the highly toxic waste be charged with
attempted murder.

"The investigation carried out should be criminal in nature as
the offense is not just one of environmental pollution," said a
spokesman for a consumers movement in northern Penang state.

The 50-kilogram drums of cyanide were said to be enough to
wipe out half of Malaysia's population of 18 million. They were
found dumped near Pangkor this weekend by environmental officials
after a nearby fish breeder reported that thousands of his fish
had mysteriously died.

Sale of fish in the island was still banned yesterday pending
the results of chemical analysis of the toxic seepage. The probe
is being coordinated by an inter-governmental body.

In an intensified hunt for the culprits, police have arrested
a second man to assist in attempts to trace the origin of the
cyanide.

The rusting, dented drums have been repacked and transferred
to higher ground to prevent possible further leaks.

Top officials said the dumping had highlighted the need to
speed up construction of a 353-million-ringgit (US$141.2 million)
central toxic treatment plant in southwestern Negri Sembilan
state.

This was the second time in recent years that Perak had been
made the dumping ground of highly toxic waste. In 1989, more than
1,500 tons of toxic waste was dumped off the beaches of Pantai
Remis by a Singaporean company.

Officials said current provisions in Malaysia's environmental
laws were inadequate, as convicted violators could only be fined
up to 10,000 ringgit ($4,000), jailed for two years or both.

"The laws are now being reviewed to provide for harsher
penalties," an environmental official said without elaborating.