KUALA LUMPUR: Chemical industry players should dispose chemical waste or residual material properly to ensure safety of the workplace and surrounding environments.
The 'green corporate culture' must be adopted and prioritised to avoid a repeat of the Sungai Kim Kim incident in Johor recently, said National Occupational Safety and Health Institute chairman (NIOSH) Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye.
He said since managing hazardous waste might be costly for small and medium enterprises (SMEs), multinational and big chemical companies should lead the way and sddidt them to achieve a higher level of health, safety and environment (HSE) through awareness initiatives.
He said the mentor-mentee approach was relevant since more than 90 per cent of players in the local chemical industry were SMEs.
“The industry continues to be a major contributor to the export of manufactured goods, at 6.9 per cent in 2018. Although its contribution remains significant, managing, handling and disposing chemicals are equally important to ensure a safe and clean environment.
“Chemical companies must self regulate and play their role in ensuring a safe workplace and the surroundings, and health of employees,” he said at the Chemical Industry Dinner 2019 and award presentation ceremony organised by Chemical Industries Council of Malaysia (CICM) here last night.
Lee said the recent Sungai Kim Kim incident which affected thousands of people was proof that if the industry did not make peace with the environment, destruction will be all the greater in the future.
"With the advent of the 'green corporate culture', there is a need for businesses to be more conscious about environmental issues and realise there is more to gain by preserving the environment."
Lauding CICM’s effort in making the chemical industry safer, Lee said such an initiative augurs well for the country’s image.
“A good safety track record will contribute to the productivity of businesses, thus making the local chemical industry a more responsible and sustainable one,” he said.
Lee said at the international level there was already a global effort known as Responsible Care initiative for chemical industry, which Malaysia has adopted since 1994.
"Responsible Care is an ethic and commitment by the chemical industry that builds confidence and trust in the global chemical industry."
"However, due to several factors such as lack of awareness, cost and logistics, many small and medium chemical companies fail to apply the 'green culture' in their operations," he said.
Lee said the chemical industry played a vital role as a supplier of raw materials and serves as a building block to the manufacture of finished goods and other economic sectors such as agriculture and construction.
He said it was reported that the approved investments in chemical and petroleum products amounted to RM20.8 billion and RM 37.9 billion in 2017 and 2018 respectively.
On another note, Lee said the forming of the Toxic Waste Management and Scheduled Waste National Committee was timely and should be supported by all parties as it could help tackle indiscriminate disposal of hazardous wastes like what happened in Sungai Kim Kim.
"I believe that the committee is the highest platform that could make decisions on how to better manage toxic waste so that such incidents do not recur and SMEs can get better exposure to proper disposal methods," Lee said.
He said other than the Department of Environment (DoE) and relevant agencies, the committee should also include experts from the institutions of higher learning and other parties such as the CICM.
Also present at the function was CICM chairman Datuk Dr Abd Hapiz Abdullah, who jointly presented the CICM Responsible Care Award 2017/2018 with Lee to the grand award winner- IOI Pan-Century Olechemicals Sdn Bhd.