A truck full of palm oil has overturned and emptied its load into a river near the Malaysian capital, threatening to disrupt the water supply to thousands of residents, a report said Sunday.
Selangor state Infrastructure and Public Utilities Committee chairman Abdul Fatah Iskandar said the tanker fell on its side on Friday after it was hit by another lorry, according to the Star Daily.
A water treatment plant on the river was shut down following the accident.
Workers were attempting to trap some 9,000 litres (2,340 gallons) of palm oil that had flowed into the drinking water source, the Star Daily report said.
Abdul Fatah added that it was hoped the clean-up would be completed by Sunday so that water supply would not be disrupted.
State Environment Department director Che Asmah Ibrahim told the Star that there was no chemical contamination in the water.
"The palm oil is biodegradable and it floats on the surface of the water so it is easy to see it," she was quoted as saying.
Last September, over 30,000 residents in the Gombak district had their water supply cut off for three days after two palm oil tankers collided, contaminating the Gombak river.
Two weeks ago, a water treatment plant near Kajang was closed due to high ammonia levels in the raw water, affecting supply to thousands of households in Selangor.
Comments
Comments are closed.