PAHANG, Malaysia -- The Gebeng industrial area in Kuantan, Pahang, is in safe hands, judging from the investments spent by the petrochemical companies to make their operations environmental-friendly.

Environmental care and safety are big features in their operations and this should be comforting and assuring enough to allay the fears of residents staying in the surrounding areas.

Every now and then, questions have been raised on the safety aspect of the operations of the plants and their potential to cause pollution.

Recently, a remark was passed that Gebeng had become a "sensitive" area due to the presence of many petrochemical manufacturing plants there.

In responding to this, Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Adnan Yaakob said the safety aspect was given priority and that there had been no report on any of them breaching the regulations.

"The Department of Environment and Fire and Rescue Department are constantly monitoring their operations to ensure they abide by all the regulations."

On the part of the authorities, there are plans to build a fire station to house a special squad for emergencies especially involving hazardous materials in the industrial area.

The State Government is very open about the matter.

"If any quarters have any suggestion on how to further improve the surveillance (on the operations of the petro-chemical companies), we are prepared to look into them. We welcome all feedback," Adnan said.

The industrialists are also giving due attention to the environment and the safety of their operations.

On Feb 1, Polyplastics Asia Pacific Sdn Bhd achieved the ISO 14001 certification for proper environmental management for its engineering plastics plant in Gebeng.

The certification is a testimony to the company's efforts in achieving the standards required for a cleaner environment.

Managing director Motoshi Sawada said Polyplastics would continue to manufacture and develop its product together with the uncompromising ISO 14001 concept of greening the environment.

On Feb 8, Amoco Chemical (M) Sdn Bhd, which operates a purified terephthalic acid complex in Gebeng, officially received its ISO 14001 certificate.

Managing director Jimmie Bufkin said ACM's capital management investment on environmental management was RM40 million while its annual expenses for the purpose was between RM10 and RM11 million.

"The bulk of this goes to our waste water treatment plant," he said.

Bufkin said ACM, which was the recipient of the Pahang DOE's Environmental Conservation Award (industrial category) in 1999, placed equal importance on its health, safety and environment objectives as it did on its business objectives.

In April last year, Eastman Chemical (M) Bhd invested RM7.6 million in upgrading its waste water treatment plant and hence made it the most environmental-friendly of the 13 manufacturing facilities operated through-out the world by the Tennessee-based chemical giant.

Its director/general manager Joseph M. Bologna said the improvement had brought the company's total expenditure on its environmental system to about RM30 million.

He said the upgraded system would enhance the plant's environmental protection to handle any unplanned situations.

BASF Petronas Chemicals Sdn Bhd, meanwhile, has set up an emergency response centre to ensure all emergency situations involving the company and its products during transportation are attended to promptly and orderly.

It has spent RM5 million on two fire engines, an ambulance and safety and health equipment.

On its payroll are 15 full-time professional fire fighters while the emergency response team has 56 members.

In addition to the individual expenses on their environmental protection system, the petrochemical companies are members of the Gebeng Emergency Mutual Aid underwhich they will pool their resources in tackling emergency situations.

Through the initiative, the manufacturers will participate in measures to maintain the highest standards of safety at all times not only at their respective manufacturing site but also of their neighbours.

Under the country's second Industrial Master Plan, chemical and petro-chemical industry is being developed as a clustered international network.

The industry is expected to become the country's main export sector and that, it is expected to have a significant impact on the country's economy in the future.

Gebeng has attracted 43 projects with investments totalling RM3.5 billion.

Together, they have created 4,821 jobs while many others are benefiting from the spin-off economic activities.

"If we were to close down the area, many will become jobless," Adnan said.

He added that residents in other parts of the State were also benefiting from the presence of the petrochemical companies.

The multinationals paid taxes to the Federal Government.

"The money is in turn channeled to the State Governments which will use the funds to finance development projects Statewide, especially in the rural areas," he said.

In the past, there had been claims that Gebeng was a "dumping ground" for high-risk industries rejected by other countries.

This is seen as an attempt by irresponsible quarters to undermine the Government's efforts to bring progress to the country.

Those trying to mislead the people by giving inaccurate picture of the situation are doing a disservice to the people and the State.

The petrochemical companies are well-established multinationals with clients all over the world.

Surely, they do not want their good name developed over the years be stained by one incident.  

Source: The New Straitstimes, Malaysia.