BINTULU (Jan 23): The Department of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH) Sarawak has dispatched an investigative team to the plant in Samalaju Industrial Park here following an explosion that occurred late last night.

In a statement posted on Facebook, DOSH Sarawak said that the team will conduct a thorough investigation to determine the cause of the incident, which took place around 10.55pm.

“Legal action will be taken against the responsible parties if there are violations under the Occupational Safety and Health Act 1994 (Act 514).

“DOSH Sarawak takes all accidents seriously and urges all employers to enhance safety and health standards at the workplace,” it said.

The latest Samalaju Industrial Park explosion occurred at the plant operated by OCIM Sdn Bhd.

According to a report from the plant’s safety officer, the incident is believed to have been caused by a hydrogen gas leak from a filter vessel that accumulated within the shelter at PS1 A1 Section.

Fortunately, no casualties were reported.

BINTULU (Jan 23): An explosion occurred at OCIM Sdn Bhd’s plant in Samalaju Industrial Park here last night.

The Sarawak Fire and Rescue Department (Bomba) said no injuries were reported in the incident.

Firefighters from the Samalaju fire station were dispatched to the scene for monitoring purposes after receiving a call at 11pm.

When contacted today, Samalaju fire station chief Irwin Abidin said based on a report from the plant safety officer, the explosion is suspected to have been caused by a hydrogen gas leak from a filter vessel that accumulated within the shelter at PS1 A1 Section.

“The incident area covered 35 square metres, with the blast radius causing damage to four square metres.

“There was no explosion involving piping or vessels, and the damage was limited to the shelter panel wall,” said Irwin.

He added the plant operators isolated and shut down operations from Centre Control Room One to manage and stop operations during the incident.

No firefighting operations were conducted by Bomba.

Firefighters only monitored and collected information from the plant regarding the explosion.

Irwin added the Bomba Fire Investigation Division is still investigating the exact cause of the explosion.

In August last year, a fire that broke out at OCIM’s bottom reactor tank resulted in the deaths of two workers, while eight others were injured.

Also in Samalaju the following month, 100 Phase 3 pots at Press Metal were affected by a smelter fire, while in November an explosion occurred at an OM Materials (Sarawak) Sdn Bhd factory furnace workshop.

No one was injured in both incidents.

KUANTAN - Sungai Galing di kawasan Perindustrian Semambu menjadi perhatian selepas warna airnya bertukar kebiruan, dipercayai akibat pencemaran pada Khamis.

Ahli Dewan Undangan Negeri (ADUN) Semambu, Chan Chun Kuang berkata, perkara itu diketahuinya selepas menerima aduan daripada pemilik sebuah kilang yang menyedari perubahan luar biasa pada warna air sungai tersebut.

Menurutnya, Jabatan Alam Sekitar (JAS) mendapati perubahan warna air sungai itu berpunca daripada aktiviti sebuah premis menjual cat di kawasan tersebut.

"Hasil siasatan lanjut menunjukkan pencemaran itu berlaku akibat cucian botol cat jenis 'colorant' di premis berkenaan.

"Premis tersebut telah diarahkan untuk menghentikan aktiviti pencucian dan diberikan surat amaran sebagai langkah pencegahan," katanya ketika dihubungi Sinar Harian pada Khamis.

Sebelum ini, Chun Kuang memuat naik video berdurasi enam saat memaparkan aliran Sungai Galing yang berubah menjadi kebiruan di akaun Facebook miliknya.

Bagaimanapun, tinjauan Sinar Harian ke lokasi mendapati, keadaan sungai telah kembali normal.

Mengulas lanjut, Chun Kuang berkata, pihak JAS akan memaklumkan kepada Majlis Bandaraya Kuantan (MBK) agar memantau pengusaha di kawasan berkenaan supaya perkara itu tidak berulang.

Katanya, orang awam digalakkan melaporkan sebarang kejadian pencemaran melalui sistem e-aduan di https://eaduan.doe.gov.my/https://eaduan.doe.gov.my/ atau menghubungi JAS di talian 09-573 0636.

Sehubungan itu, beliau meminta penduduk setempat dan pengusaha perniagaan supaya menjaga kebersihan Sungai Galing yang bakal dijadikan sebagai 'living river'.

“Saya berharap semua pihak dapat memainkan peranan dalam memastikan Sungai Galing kekal bersih dan bebas daripada pencemaran,” katanya.

LOS ANGELES: A rapidly growing wildfire broke out some 50 miles (80 km) north of Los Angeles on Wednesday, burning 3,407 acres (5.3 square km) while two major fires burning in the metropolitan area for more than two weeks were getting under control, fire officials said.

The Hughes Fire in the Castaic Lake area of Los Angeles County forced evacuations with warnings of "immediate threat to life," while much of Southern California remained under a red flag warning for extreme fire risk due to strong, dry winds.

The number of people under evacuation orders was not specified. About 18,600 people live in the community of Castaic.

Firefighters from Angeles National Forest were responding, the US Forest Service said, announcing that the entire 700,000-acre (2,800-sq-km) park in the San Gabriel Mountains was closed to visitors.

As the new fire raged, the two deadly fires that have ravaged Los Angeles came under greater control, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) said.