Final Together, Protecting the Enviroment

A nation that destroys its soils destroys
itself. Forests are the lungs of our land,
purifying the air and giving fresh strength

to our people.

- Franklin D. Roosevelt

Genting Highlands, Pahang.

Chapter 10

Scheduled Wastes
Management
in Malaysia

SCHEDULED WASTES MANAGEMENT IN MALAYSIA

Zuraini Ahmad Tajudin & Mazriah Ayu Abu Bakar

INTRODUCTION

Hazardous waste management has become a global challenge worldwide and Malaysia
in particular. Ineffective management of hazardous wastes will have an impact on human
health and the environment. Improper management of hazardous wastes will cause
serious health problems as it will pollute air, soil and water resources. Hazardous wastes
can enter water resources through leachate and when this happens it is impossible
or difficult to remedy. It will also contaminate the soil and will get into the food chain.
Remediation works due to hazardous waste pollution are massive and expensive and
will put a burden on the country’s finances.

Malaysia as an alter independent country since 1957 has established its environmental
governance two decades independence. The fundamental of good environmental
governance among others include political commitment, rule of law, policies and the
establishment of Department of Environment as an institution that governs the related
law.

The Department of Environment (DOE) is the institutional body that enforce and govern
the Environmental Quality Act 1974 (Act 127) to prevent, eliminate, control pollution and
enhancing the environment. DOE also enforces Part IV of Economic Exclusive Zone
Act 1984, to control oil spill and to carry out investigation on any pollution evenly at the
Economic Exclusive Zones. Besides administering the law, DOE also promotes how
public should interact with the environment in all sectors. Good governance should be
able to meet the needs of society and ensure the sustainable use of resources. The
three main elements that relates to the EQA 1974 are air pollution management, water
pollution management and scheduled waste management. This chapter focuses on
scheduled waste management and its challenges, towards in uphold its environmental
governance.

INTERNATIONAL TREATY ON HAZARDOUS WASTE MANAGEMENT

Hazardous waste management, refered to scheduled waste in Malaysia, began to
receive attention globally when the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary
Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal was adopted on 22 Mac 1989. The
Basel Convention is an international treaty designed to control and reduce the movement
of hazardous wastes between countries in preventing the transboundary movement of
hazardous wastes from developed countries to developing or less developed countries.
The main goal of the Basel Convention is to protect human health and the environment
from adverse effects caused by generation, transboundary movement and management
of hazardous wastes.

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Furthermore, to strengthen control over the export of hazardous waste from developed
countries to developing countries and countries with economies in transition, a control
mechanism called the Ban Amendment to the Basel Convention was adopted during
the Second Conference of the Parties. (COPs) in March 1994. The Ban Amendment
imposed a prohibition on the movement of hazardous wastes from any member state
to the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD), European
Union (EU) member states or Liechtenstein to any non-member state. The fourteenth
COPs Meeting (COPs14) held on 29 April to 10 May 2019 decided that the Ban
Amendment comes into force on 4 December 2019.

The principals of the Basel Convention, that need to be adhered to by parties are as
focus:
i. All exports of hazardous wastes from OECD to non-OECD countries for final

disposal would be banned immediately;
ii. All exports of hazardous wastes from OECD to non-OECD countries for recovery

operations would be gradually reduced and totally stopped by 31 December 1997.
iii. No hazardous wastes allowed to be exported to State that bans import of such

wastes;
iv. A Party shall not permit hazardous wastes or other wastes to be exported to a non-

Party or to be imported from a non-Party;
v. Every country has the sovereign right to refuse a shipment of toxic and hazardous

wastes;
vi. The Prior Informed Consent Procedures shall be applied in any transboundary

movements whereby the State of export shall not allow the generator or exporter to
commence the transboundary movement until it has received written confirmation
that:
a. The notifier has received the written consent of the State of import; and
b. The notifier has received from the State of import confirmation of the existence

of a contract between the exporter and the disposer specifying environmentally
sound management of the wastes in question.
vii. Shipments of hazardous wastes must be packaged, labelled and transported
in conformity with generally accepted and recognized international rules and
standards;
viii. The Convention states that illegal traffic in hazardous wastes is criminal, the State
of export has a duty to either take back the wastes or find some other ways of
disposing of them in an environmentally sound manner;
ix. Bilateral agreements may be made by signatory States with each other and with
a non-signatory country, but these agreements must conform to the terms of the
Basel Convention and be no less environmentally sound; and
x. The Convention stipulates that less hazardous waste to be generated and what is
generated to be disposed of as close to its source as possible.

Malaysia ratified the Basel Convention on 8 October 1993 and subsequently the Basel
Convention came into force in Malaysia on 6 January 1994. Malaysia also ratified the
Ban Amendment on 26 October 2001. To date, Malaysia has fully complied with its
obligations under the Basel Convention and the Ban Amendments.

253

In February 1998, Malaysia hosted the Fourth Meeting of the Conference of Parties
(COP) to the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of
Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal 1989, in Kuching, Sarawak. Malaysia was also
appointed as the President for COP for the duration of two years. This was regarded as
an international recognition of the many years of effort by Malaysia to manage hazardous
wastes efficiently and effectively.

HAZARDOUS WASTE MANAGEMENT LEGISLATION AND POLICY

The Environmental Quality Act 1974 was amended to anticipate the country is obligation
towards Basel Convention. In 1989, a list of hazardous waste was adopted from
Annex 1 of the Basel Convention and incorporated in EQA 1974. At the same time,
with inputs stakeholders, Malaysia had listed the hazardous waste as Scheduled Waste
under Environmental Quality (Scheduled Waste) Regulations 1989 and enforced at the
national level. These regulations focused on the management of scheduled waste from
its generation to final disposal. It classifies hazardous wastes from the industrial process
that generates the hazardous waste and its chemicals composition.

In 2005, the regulation was amended considering changes in waste categorization, new
provisions for special management on certain scheduled waste, restriction on storage
quantity and period of storage, the requirement of training and awareness etc. It shows
that this process of governance is dynamic, any shortcomings and to be improved from
time to time, and it also depends on emerging issues at the local or international levels.

The 2005 regulations also introduce special management for scheduled waste whereby
scheduled waste may be allowed to be treated or disposed to the non-prescribed
premises with the approval form Director General of DOE. Most of the approval related
to fly ash from coal fired power plant classified as SW104. The studies and analysis show
that the fly ash helps to strengthen the cement mix for construction. This method which
requires heating to at least 1200oC, results in the destruction of all hazard materials and
it is similar to incineration and solidification method for final disposal.

Other than that, this regulation also restricts the amount of scheduled waste stored in
its own premise up to 20 MT and can only be stored up to 180 days. This approach is
to prevent from any illegal disposal and to ensure environmental sound management of
scheduled waste.

In enhancing the control of transboundary movements of hazardous waste, the related
provision was included in 1996, under Section 34B of Environmental Quality Act 1974.
The provisions stated that any transboundary movement that requires an approval from
the Director General of Environment. It also governs any wrongdoing in proper disposal
of scheduled waste may bring up to RM500,000 and 5 years imprisonment as penalty.

In complementing the environmental sound management of scheduled waste in
Malaysia, below are the related provisions and regulations under the same act :
i. Section 34A requires Environmental Impact Assessment report for all facilities that

deals with scheduled waste for recovery, treatment, and disposal;

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ii. Section 18 and 19 requires license to operate and plan approval for the construction
of incineration plants, off-site recovery plants, off-site wastewater treatment plants,
secure landfill sites, and off-site waste storage facilities; accordingly, prior to any
activities; and

iii. The Environmental Quality (Prescribed Premises) (Scheduled Wastes Treatment
and Disposal Facilities) Regulations 2005 deal with operational procedures and
licensing of facilities used for the recovery, treatment, storage and disposal of
scheduled wastes.

Whereby The Environmental Quality (Prescribed Premises) (Scheduled Wastes
Treatment and Disposal Facilities) Order 2005 prescribes the facilities as follows:
i. Off-site storage facilities;
ii. Off-site treatment facilities;
iii. Off-site recovery facilities;
iv. Scheduled wastes incinerators;
v. Land treatment facilities; and
vi. Secured landfills.

Other than the Environmental Quality Act 1974, the control of transboundary movements
of scheduled waste is also involves the Malaysia Royal Customs. In compliance with
the Basel Convention on control of transboundary movements of hazardous waste,
import and export orders of scheduled waste, as listed under Environmental Quality
(Scheduled Waste) Regulations 2005, were formulated under the Malaysian Customs
Act, 1967 which prohibits importation or exportation of hazardous wastes unless with
prior written approval from the Director General of the Department of Environment. The
two recent amended orders are as follows:
i. Item 31, Schedule III, Part 1, Custom (Prohibition of Export) Order 2017; and
ii. Item 54, Schedule III, Part 1, Custom (Prohibition of Import) Order 2017.

Other than the stipulated legislations for hazardous wastes, Malaysia has established
the following policies: -
i. Malaysia has the sovereign right to prohibit hazardous wastes to be imported into

the country for final disposal purposes;
ii. Malaysia restricts the importation of hazardous wastes into the country. Licensed

recovery facility shall manage, and process hazardous wastes generated and
collected in the country;
iii. Malaysia allows the importation of hazardous wastes only for the purpose of direct
reuse or as alternative raw material provided the hazardous waste is not available
in the country;
iv. Malaysia prohibits the exportation of hazardous waste for the purpose of final
disposal unless no such facilities available in the country; and
v. Malaysia allows the exportation of hazardous wastes subject to the following conditions:
a. The importing country has better technology which results in higher recovery

rate than technology available in Malaysia; and
b. No technical capacity and a necessary facility to recover the wastes in

environmentally sound management

255

SCHEDULED WASTE MANAGEMENT STRATEGY

In line with the country’s commitment in enhancing the holistic and safe management
of scheduled waste, various initiatives have been taken towards strengthening the
management of scheduled waste. Aligned with the government’s intention to make the
scheduled waste management sector able to generate high income for the country, DOE
has formulated a comprehensive strategy to strengthen inclusive development, namely
human capital development and promote economic development in scheduled waste
management. The direction of scheduled waste management has been set as follows:
i. Scheduled waste management based on the principle of cradle to cradle in achieving

the goal of making the scheduled waste management sector more competitive
(through waste to wealth or waste to resources) and thus able to generate economy
to the country; and
ii. Reduce the generation of scheduled waste, reuse and recycling of scheduled waste
to enable raw materials to be managed more effectively, hence conserving natural
resources.

To strengthen the management of scheduled waste, DOE has formulated strategies and
measures to reduce risks to human health and the environment from the management
of scheduled waste. There are eight (8) strategies that have been formulated to be the
main pillars towards excellence in scheduled waste management as follows:
i. Strengthen scheduled waste management policies and legislation;
ii. Enhance the enforcement of legislation related to Scheduled Waste management;
iii. Environmental forensic approach in scheduled waste enforcement;
iv. Improve application of 4R and safe disposal methods;
v. Strengthening international cooperation;
vi. Exploring new options towards strengthening scheduled waste management;
vii. Empowering and cultivating human capacity of DOE officers and stakeholders in

scheduled waste management; and
viii. Stakeholders’ engagement.

A good governance of scheduled waste management may create a sustainable and
competitive sector as well as benefit the environment and the economy:

1. Environmental benefits.
ii. Minimizing the impact of climate change; and
iii. Reduce the leaching of hazardous materials such as heavy metals to the
environment.

2. Economic benefits
iii. Encourage the reuse of scheduled wastes as alternative raw materials or
alternative fuels;
iv. Reduce dependence on natural resources;
v. Reduce operating costs through the implementation of reuse of scheduled
waste as alternative raw material; and
vi. Avoid the cost of clean-up work caused by illegal disposal.

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Strategy 1: Strengthen Scheduled Waste Management Policies and Legislation.

The objective of this strategy is to ensure effective and robust management of
scheduled waste. Good policies and legislations will ensure that scheduled waste
management and economic development are balanced for the well -being of the people
and the environment.

In addressing issues related to scheduled waste management, focus is usually given
to technical matters. However, it is important to understand that it is also influenced by
other aspects such as policy, legislation, economy, and institutions. In general, policy
and legal aspects play an important role towards the sustainability of scheduled waste
management. Adequate legislation will influence policy aspects in scheduled waste
management. Inadequate legislation will result in a lack of policy effectiveness towards
achieving sustainable scheduled waste management.

The concept of sustainable development became a global consensus after the
Earth Summit in the year 1992, with its aim towards reducing the negative impact of
human activities towards the environment. The establishment of Agenda 21 is seen
as one of the most significant outcomes of the Earth Summit, as it helps countries to
design proper policy framework towards achieving more environmental sustainability.
Waste management is considered as a central part under the concept of sustainable
development. Wastes are usually referred to as something that pose negative impact
towards the environment. Meanwhile, sustainable waste management refers to the
activity of utilizing the natural resources more efficiently (Saat & Ali, 2014).

Under the legislation enacted for scheduled waste management, the concept of cradle-
to-grave has been applied to monitor the movement of scheduled waste generated.
“Cradle to grave” states that, hazardous waste generator is responsible for its waste
from the generation through its ultimate disposal and beyond. Cradle-to-grave waste
management is a long-term waste management process designed to ensure that
hazardous waste is stored, transported, and disposed of appropriately. It requires waste
generators to manage their waste across its whole lifecycle — from the ‘cradle,’ when
the waste is generated, to the ‘grave’ when it is disposed of.

Based on this principle, Regulation 8, Environmental Quality Regulations (Scheduled
Wastes) 2005 was states that, every waste generator shall ensure that scheduled wastes
generated, are properly stored, treated on-site, recovered on-site for material or product
from such scheduled wastes or delivered to and received at prescribed premises for
treatment, disposal or recovery of material or product from scheduled wastes. Nothing
will relinquish a generator of this responsibility.

The policies and legislation formulated also take into consideration holistic and scheduled
waste management which is based on other principles namely cradle-to cradle, polluter
pay principle, precautionary principle, environmental sound management, circular
economy extended producer responsibility (EPR). Thus, several regulations are being
enacted in relation to waste management of electrical and electronic equipment, control of
chemicals and contaminated soil to ensure more environmentally friendly management.

257

Scheduled waste management is dynamic and constantly evolve, therefore, existing
acts and regulations need to be reviewed and updated. The implementation of
comprehensive policies and legislation are supported by the development of guidelines
as well as consultation with DOE or any qualified parties.
Strategy 2: Enhance the Enforcement of Legislation Related to Scheduled Waste
Management.
This strategy aims to ensure effective and systematic enforcement to improve industry
compliance with legislation related to scheduled waste management. In the process of
strengthening enforcement, data management is one of the important elements that
need to be considered. Due to that, in line with IR 4.0, DOE has developed the Electronic
Scheduled Waste Information System (eSWIS), an online system to facilitate industry to
update information related to scheduled waste management manage at their premises.
eSWIS is one form of self-regulation approach implemented by DOE. By using eSWIS,
waste generators can submit notification for scheduled waste generated, including waste
characteristic information (WC), update inventory and consignment note information.
The development of this system has considered every requirement in the scheduled
wastes regulation as well as other elements related to scheduled waste management.
By having the integrated data management, DOE is able strengthen the implementation
of environmental forensic especially for complex cases such as illegal dumping of
scheduled waste.
Apart from the development of the online system, eSWIS, the implementation of self
-regulation is also implemented through third party audits that need to be done by
industry, especially scheduled waste treatment and disposal facilities. This third-party
audit must be conducted by a qualified person and registered with the DOE. Competent
person is another element under self-regulation that needs to be executed by industry.
With the implementation of self-regulation, it should be able to achieve better compliance
among the industry.
As a party to the Basel Convention, DOE always ensures compliance with every obligation
stated under the treaty. These includes strengthening the control of the importation and
exportation of scheduled waste (or hazardous waste) through cooperation with various
parties namely the Royal Malaysia Customs Department, port authorities and port operators.
Strategy 3: Environmental Forensic Approach in Scheduled Wastes Enforcement
Environmental forensics in the enforcement of scheduled waste management is a new
approach that is being studied by DOE. It is to address issues that arise especially in the
investigation of case related to scheduled waste such as:
i. Hazardous waste generation and compliances to the legislation;
ii. Hazardous waste management facilities;
iii. Illegal dumping of hazardous waste;
iv. Importation and exportation of hazardous waste; and
v. Contaminated land.

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As an initial step towards the implementation, DOE is in the process of creating a
profile for scheduled wastes and pollutants for the purpose of database development.
Scheduled waste profiling is implemented through the collection of chemical analysis
information for all types of scheduled waste generated by the industry to identify the
composition of scheduled waste. Through the implementation environmental forensic, it
is anticipated that the enforcement and investigation of scheduled waste cases can be
implemented in a more robust and effective manner.
Strategy 4: Improve the Application of 4R and Safe Disposal Methods
Beginning 2005, DOE has begun to focus on the circular economy model in scheduled
waste management. The circular economy is designed to benefit businesses, society
and the environment. For the hazardous waste industry, however, the circular economy
offers a unique opportunity to help prevent the depletion of vital and non-renewable
natural resources.
Based on this circular economy model, DOE began to promote 4R (Reduce, Reuse,
Recycle, Recover) in scheduled waste management. Through 4R applications,
industry is encouraged to reduce scheduled waste generation. To ensure the
successful implementation of 4R applications, DOE strongly encourages research and
development (R&D) programs among stakeholders, namely expert groups, universities
and industry in exploring and finding alternatives to scheduled waste management such
as sustainable reuse of scheduled waste. In addition, it can be achieved through the
approach of integrating and promoting cleaner production practices where the reuse
(waste utilization) of scheduled waste as an alternative raw material in the production of
products can be expanded.
The use of scheduled waste as an alternative raw material or alternative fuel in the
co-processing technology for cement production, road pavement bricks (bricks) and
the production of fertilizers or soil conditioners has begun to gain industry attention.
For the purpose of reuse as an alternative raw materials and alternative fuels, the
waste generator needs to perform chemical analysis to identify the composition of
scheduled wastes generated and prove that it has minimum risk to human health and
the environment. The method and process in this initiatives also play an important factor
as to ensure the hazardous material is totally destroyed with the high temperature and
should not leach to the environment.
Apart from the reuse of scheduled waste as an alternative raw material or alternative
fuel, scheduled waste can also be used in energy or electricity production. Scheduled
waste that has a high calorific value can be used as a raw material for heat recovery to
produce energy or electricity, in which this process known as waste to energy. Through
this process, the quantity of scheduled waste to be disposed onto the secured landfill
can be reduced. In general, the 4R application promoted by DOE is based on the waste
management hierarchy as shown in the following diagram:

259

To ensure that the 4R application is implemented properly and safely, the waste
characteristics (WC) and the waste acceptance criteria (WAC) are one of the
important elements in determining the suitability of the method or process to be used.
Characterization and classification of waste enables qualified decision making on
optimal waste management. It plays an important role in making decision on the waste
management option that is the most appropriate. Full understanding at the material’s
composition and behavior allows to treated it to be optimally and handled properly
according to relevant legislation or other specific requirements. This procedure is
similar to the procedure implemented under the Basel Convention where hazardous
characteristics of the waste are considered in determining the method of treatment of
the waste generated.

Referring to goal 12 of the Sustainable Development Goals, one of the goals is focussed
on significantly reducing waste generation through prevention, reduction, recycling and
reuse by 2030. Therefore, the implementation of this 4R application should be able to
assist Malaysia in achieving the said goal.

Strategy 5: Strengthening International Cooperation

As a member of the Basel Convention and the Rotterdam Convention, attention is also
given to strengthening international cooperation to ensure that domestic scheduled
waste management is comparable with others. This has been translated through the
implementation of the obligations set out in each of the multilateral agreements (MEAs)
that have been ratified. Involvement and strengthening cooperation at the international
level are very important to ensure that Malaysia is equivalent to other countries,
especially in addressing issues such as hazardous chemicals management, e-waste,
land transboundary movement (import and export) of scheduled waste (or hazardous waste).

Active participation in meetings or conferences at the regional and international levels
ensure that the country’s position with regards to the management of scheduled waste
and hazardous chemicals can be voiced and highlighted. The country’s position on
scheduled waste management is parallel with Cartagena Declaration which emphasizes
the principles of waste minimization and prevention.

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As the Competent Authority to the Basel Convention, DOE continuously provide input
during the negotiation of free trade agreements and international trade or whenever
deemed necessary. The input given involves the prevention of illegal shipment activities
in ensuring good compliance by Malaysia with the obligations set forth under the
convention and to avoid Malaysia being used as a dumping ground.

Strategy 6: Exploring New Options Towards Strengthening Scheduled Waste
Management

Scheduled waste management is a dynamic sector and able to generate income for
the country through the implementation of the concept polluter pay principle, circular
economy, shared responsibility and extended produced responsibility (EPR). Thus,
stakeholders involved in scheduled waste management need to play their part to ensure
that the scheduled waste generated is managed in an environmentally sound manner as
it is also able to create new economic sectors related to waste management.

Another approach that can contribute to the economy in relation to the scheduled
waste management sector is through the implementation of cess where scheduled
waste generated will be levied by its quantity. The implementation of cess will indirectly
encourage the industry to explore new technologies align with the development and
modernization of the country with the aim to reduce the scheduled waste generated.
Industrial sectors that need technological improvements to manage scheduled wastes
generated in an environmentally sound manner will be identified. Subsequently, green
technology policy or green industry can be amplified.

Another sector being studied by DOE is a comprehensive, systematic and holistic
management of waste electrical and electronic equipment (e-waste). Under the
framework of the e-waste management mechanism that has been developed, DOE
highlights the concept of extended producer’s responsibility (EPR) and emphasize on
the concept of shared responsibility among the stakeholders involved. The EPR concept
states that producer is responsible to ensure the electrical and electronic equipment
produced is managed in an ESM manner once it reaches its lifespan or has been
damaged or broken. With the introduction of e-waste management mechanism, it is
another option that need to be given attention in strengthening the management of
scheduled waste in the country which will in turn, is able generate enhanced economy
for the country.

Strategy 7: Empowering and Cultivating Human Capacity of DOE Officers and
Stakeholders in Scheduled Waste Management

Development human capacity among DOE officers and stakeholders in scheduled waste
management is essential towards the development of a systematic and sustainable
environment. Recognizing this, competent officers have always been the main concern
of DOE, through:
i. Development of Expertise and improving the capacity building of DOE officers; and
ii. Enhancing the professionalism of DOE officers and stakeholders which include

industrial players, consultants, training provider and other related parties.

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Human capacity building is implemented continuously through various methods including
training, and courses. The approach through smart partnerships is also one of the efforts
to strengthen human capital among DOE officers and industry.
Strategi 8: Stakeholder Engagement
Stakeholder engagement can be defined as systematic process to identify, analyze,
plan and implement the action or policy design to influence stakeholders. Stakeholder
engagement is critical as it can mitigate the risk of missing important issues or element.
It also helps the DOE to proactively consider the needs and desires of stakeholder,
thus can foster key initiatives that has been formulated. Furthermore, it is important to
ensure that all stakeholders are aligned so that they can become advocates that are
able to assist DOE to achieve its mission and vision in scheduled waste management.
Additionally, stakeholders may have a wealth of relevant knowledge and experience.
In ensuring that stakeholder engagement brings benefits to all parties, two-way
interaction approaches such as dialogue and negotiation are the main options used.
Hence DOE anticipate various inputs can be obtained to ensure the strategies and
initiatives formulated will be more impactful, sustainable, and viable for the long-term.
WAY FORWARD AND CONCLUSION
Though so many efforts and strategies had been implemented in scheduled waste
management for sustainable development Malaysia, obviously more needs to be done.
Illegal dumping and illegal import still occur in our country. We always believed that
cooperation among government agencies and political will are the most important
factors in preventing these environmental crimes. Not only legislations in place, but
the understanding in hazards imposed by improper management of scheduled waste,
will lead to better decision making. This chapter has explained the possible income
generation through 4R applications, apart from the need for the waste generator to
invest in appropriate technologies for better and effective management of scheduled
waste. Municipal council and district officers should be able to play their role to ensure
that industries donts jeopardize the environment. Licensing mechanism should be able
to control industrial players behavior. For instance, higher premium may be imposed.
Other than that, the issue of cleaning up the illegal dumping site has become much
more complicated when the clean-up costs are getting higher. It takes time for the
responsible party to be charged with the offences as the chain of evidence needs to be
maintained and established and is the most crucial part in carrying out an investigation.
Enforcement efforts by DOE would be more meaningful if support from the municipal
council and district officers could be garnered in handling scheduled waste management
issues on site, as the saying goes, seeing is believing.
REFERENCE
Dato’ Hajah Rosnani Ibarahim, Ir Lee Heng Keng, Dr. Ab Rahman Awang, Puan Hajah
Hanili Ghazali & Puan Ijan Khushaida Mohd Jan, Jabatan Alam Sekitar, Kementerian
Sumber Asli dan Alam Sekitar, Scheduled Wastes In Malaysia on a Journey.

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Scheduled Wastes Management in Malaysia

Jabatan Alam Sekitar, Kementerian Sumber Asli dan Alam Sekitar, (2015), Pelan
Strategik Pengurusan Buangan Terjadual Pasca 2015
Siti Aishah Saat & Noraziah Ali (2014). Analysing the sustainability of solid waste policy
in Malaysia using the ecological modernization theory.
Haidy Henry Dusim, Mohammad Tahir Mapa & Jenny @ Janey Mosikon, (2017), Important of
Adequate Legislation from the Perspective of Solid Waste Management Policy.
AUTHOR

Zuraini Ahmad Tajudin graduated from University Malaya in 1993 and
started her career with DOE since 1994 as Environmental Control
Officer. She had been assigned to several sectors in DOE such as
EIA Review officer, Enforcement Officer for Environmental Quality
Act 1974 and Prosecution Officer on the same act. In 2008, she
was assigned as officer in charge for Multi Environment Agreements
(MEAs) – Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Convention and was
responsible in the implementation of MEAs’ requirements within
Malaysia. Her main expertise is hazardous waste management.
She is currently the Director of Strategic Communication Division and is responsible for
education and public awareness on environment at all level especially on the importance
of sustainable development and practicing the green lifestyle for a better environment -
now and for the future generation.
Mazriah Ayu Abu Bakar has obtained extensive knowledge
and experience in the scheduled wastes management over
the past 18 years working in the Department of Environment.
Areas of expertise include scheduled wastes identification
and classification, waste characteristics, waste treatment and
Multilateral Environmental Agreement which are Basel Convention
on the Control of Transboundary Movement of Hazardous Wastes
and Disposal, Stockholm Convention and Rotterdam Convention.
Served as national liaison officer for Basel Convention to ensure
the compliance to the obligation under the convention and any communication with
Secretariat of Basel Convention. One of the key persons in development of Electronic
Scheduled Wastes Information System (ESWIS). Involved in drafting the Scheduled
Wastes Regulations, Prescribed Conveyance Regulations, Environmentally Hazardous
Substances Regulations and E-Waste Regulations. Experienced in design, review,
develop and update module for courses required by the officer and stakeholders to
ensure the training provided is consistent with Departmental requirements.

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The Earth is a fine place and worth fighting for.
- Ernest Hemingway

Cameron Highland, Pahang.

Chapter 11

Chemicals
Management in

Malaysia

CHEMICALS MANAGEMENT IN MALAYSIA

Goh Choo Ta & Thahirah Kamarulzaman

INTRODUCTION

While the world was dealing with the pandemic of COVID-19, a sudden explosion
occurred on 4 August 2020 in Beirut, Lebanon. According to Lebanese authorities,
the explosion killed at least 220 people, injured more than 5,000 and left an estimated
300,000 people homeless (Guglielmi, 2020). The explosion was caused by 2,750 tonnes
of ammonium nitrate, a chemical compound commonly used as an agricultural fertilizer,
which has been stored for 6 years at a port warehouse. A survey conducted by ILO
& Fafo (2021) indicated that 86% of the surveyed enterprises located within a five-
kilometre radius of the Beirut port were damaged, and 35% were severely or completely
damaged.

Beside the Beirut explosion, over the years, there have been other major accidents that
involved the uses of chemicals. The Bhopal incident that happened in India in 1984
involved the release of methyl isocyanate (MIC) from a pesticide plant. The incident
killed approximately 2,500 people and caused more than 100,000 injuries (OECD,
2005). The Bhopal incident can be seen as one of the worst chemical accidents in the
world due the accident’s consequences that occurred in a relatively short time period.
(Sriramachari and Chandra, 1997). According to Bisarya & Puri (2005), even many years
after the incident, the uncertainties and insecurities still remained in the livelihoods of the
residents in Bhopal. Table 11.1 indicates major chemical accidents that occurred in the
last century, including the Bhopal incident (OECD, 2005).

Table 11.1: Major Chemical Accidents Reported in the Last Century
Source: OECD, 2005

LOCATION TYPE OF BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF CONSEQUENCES
OF EVENT THE EVENT

ACCIDENT

Oppau, Explosion and Two powerful explosions The explosions destroyed
Germany, fire occurred when a silo storing the plant and approximately
ammonium sulphate and 700 houses nearby, and
1921 ammonium nitrate exploded at killed 430 persons.
the BASF plant.

Texas, USA, Explosion and A ship carrying ammonium The blast took nearly 600
1947 fire nitrate fertilizer blew up in the lives.
port on Galveston Bay.

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LOCATION TYPE OF BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF CONSEQUENCES
OF EVENT THE EVENT

ACCIDENT

Flixborough, Explosion and A chemical plant owned by 28 persons died and more
UK, 1974 fire Nypro (UK) exploded when the than 100 were injured.
cyclohexane leakage came into
contact with the ignition source.

Seveso, Italy, Runaway A chemical mixture containing A large number of animals
1976 reaction
dioxin, in the form of aerosol were killed and the

cloud escaped into the air. surrounding environment

was contaminated.

According to Visentin

(2005), four days after the

accident, the first signs of

skin irritation occurred in

children, and 736 persons

living in the most polluted

zone were evacuated.

Follow-up studies showed

that the increase of cancer

incidence was attributable

to dioxin exposure.

Bhopal, India, Runaway A large amount of methyl Approximately 2,500
1984 reaction
isocyanate (MIC) was released people were killed and

from the plant due to system more than 100,000 injured.

failure.

Basel, Warehouse fire In extinguishing the warehouse This caused massive
Switzerland, fire at the chemical plant, contamination of the Rhine
approximately 30 tonnes of river and large numbers of
1986 pesticides, chemical dyes and eels and fish were killed.
fungicides were washed into the
Rhine river.

Pasadena, Explosion and A massive explosion occurred There were 23 deaths and

USA, 1989 fire at a facility that produced high- about 100 persons were

density polyethylene. injured.

Longford, Explosion and An explosion occurred at an There were 2 deaths, and
Australia, fire onshore natural gas plant. gas supply to Melbourne
was disrupted for 19 days.
1998

Enschede, Explosion and Fireworks exploded in a factory There were 22 deaths
Netherlands,
fire in Enschede. and approximately 1,000
2000
injured. 350 houses and

factories were destroyed.

Toulouse, Explosion and A huge explosion occurred in a There were 30 deaths and
France, 2001 fire fertilizer factory. about 2,000 injured. 600
homes were destroyed and
2 schools demolished.

267

INTERNATIONAL INITIATIVES ON CHEMICALS MANAGEMENT

The use of chemicals is inevitable. According to the American Chemistry Council, more
than 96% of all manufactured goods are directly related to the business of chemistry
(American Chemistry Council, 2021). For example, chemicals are used in paint, cleaning
agents, fertilizers, pesticides, pharmaceutical products, food additives and preservatives.
Modern technology is also relys on chemicals, including the rechargeable batteries used
in laptops and smart phones, or even car batteries, with contain chemicals has covert
chemical energy to electric energy. Due to the global demand and rapid growth of global
economy, it has boosted chemical production worldwide. Between 2000 and 2017, it
was found that the global chemical industry’s production capacity has increased almost
double, i.e. from about 1.2 billion tonnes to 2.3 billion tonnes (UNEP, 2019).

Although chemicals have become essential in our daily life, chemicals have the potential
to cause adverse effect to human health and the environment. Beside the chemical
incidents that are discussed above, chemicals also poses chronic effects either on
human (e.g. chemicals that are associated with carcinogenic properties) and/or to the
environment (e.g. chemicals that are associated with bioaccumulative and persistent
properties). Hence, we must handle chemicals properly, and this can be done by
understanding the chemical lifecycle, which includes import, transport, manufacture,
handling, storage, recycle and disposal. When chemicals has cause adverse effects
either on human health and/or the environment, it might already too late for remediation.
Furthermore, the costs involved are also relatively high. In this regard, United Nations
Environment Programme has published a report known as ‘Cost of Inaction on the Sound
Management of the Chemicals’ to inform decision-makers and policy-makers of the cost
of inaction (UNEP, 2013). Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
defines inaction as the lack of development of ‘no new policies beyond those which
currently exist’ (OECD, 2008). Inaction may also include failure to enforce existing
national and regional policies on sound management of chemicals or to implement
international conventions and protocols (UNEP, 2013). Table 11.2 shows some of the
monetized health effects due to chemical exposure.

Table 11.2: Monetized Health Effects Due to Chemical Exposure
(Source: UNEP, 2013)

COUNTRY, CHEMICAL/ HEALTH MONETIZED DATA
CITY/ CHEMICAL CONSEQUENCES
CATEGORY 157.3 billion Yuan (USD
REGION Premature mortality 19 billion) in 2003
Air pollution and morbidity from air
China pollution

United States Toxic chemicals of Asthma in American USD 2.0 billion per year

human origin in air, and children

communities

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CHAPTER 11
Chemicals Management in Malaysia

COUNTRY, CHEMICAL/ HEALTH MONETIZED DATA
CITY/ CHEMICAL CONSEQUENCES
CATEGORY
REGION Respiratory and ZAR (South African
fNPuaOerl2t,ibcfuurorlanmtinedgso,, mSveOehs2ict&ilce
South Africa, emissions, industrial cardiovascular ailments,
Vaal and mining operations and premature deaths Rand) 289 million (USD
and electricity
Triangle generation activities 46 million) per year
Region

United States Toxic chemicals of Lead poisoning/ USD 43.4 billion
human origin in air, neurological damage/
food, water, and cognitive and behaviour 38-52 billion Rs (USD
communities consequences in 655-896 million) per
American children year, with a mean
Pakistan Lead exposure from estimate of 45 billion
all sources (leaded IQ losses (representing Rs (USD 775 million),
Japan, gasoline, industry and 78 percent of total in 2004
Minamata other possible sources cost), and mild
such as water, soil, mental retardation
paint and food) (representing 15
percent of total cost)
Mercury
Health damage; Annual expenses of
Germany Pesticides Minamata disease/ 7,671 million Yen (USD
neurological afflictions 59 million)
United States Pesticides
Acute pesticide USD 14 million
poisoning
Annually: USD 8 million
Acute pesticide for hospitalizations;
poisoning USD 17 million for
outpatient treatment;
USD 1.76 million for lost
work

In order to enhance chemicals management at the international arena, during the United
Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) that was held on 3 –
14 June 1992 at Rio de Janerio, discussion on the promotion for the sound management
of chemicals was initiated. As the result, Chapter 19 of the conference report (known as
Agenda 21) has explicitly emphasised importance of sound management of chemicals,
where the title of the Chapter is ‘Environmentally-sound management of toxic chemicals,
which includes the prevention of international illegal traffic in toxic and dangerous
products’ (United Nations 1992). A total number of six programme areas were also
identified (Table 11.3).

269

Table 11.3: Program Areas Under Chapter 19 of Agenda 21
(Source: United Nations, 1992)

PROGRAMME AREA OBJECTIVES

Programme area A: i. To strengthen international risk assessment. Several
hundred priority chemicals or groups of chemicals,
Expanding and accelerating including major pollutants and contaminants of global
international assessment of significance, should be assessed by the year 2000,
chemical risks using current selection and assessment criteria; and

ii. To produce guidelines for acceptable exposure for a
great number of toxic chemicals, based on peer review
and scientific consensus distinguishing between health
or environment based exposure limits and those relating
to socio-economic factors.

Programme area B: i. A globally harmonized hazard classification and
compatible labelling system, including material safety
Harmonisation of classification data sheets and easily understandable symbols, should
and labelling of chemicals be available, if feasible, by the year 2000.

Programme area C: i. To promote intensified exchange of information on

Information exchange on toxic chemical safety, use and emissions among all involved

parties; and
chemicals and chemical risks ii. To achieve by the year 2000, as feasible, full participation

in and implementation of the PIC (Prior Informed

Consent) procedure, including possible mandatory

applications through legally binding instruments

contained in the Amended London Guidelines and in the

FAO (Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United

Nations) Code of Conduct, taking into account the

experience gained within the PIC procedure.

Programme area D: i. To eliminate unacceptable or unreasonable risks and,
to the extent economically feasible, to reduce risks
Establishment of risk posed by toxic chemicals, by employing a broad-based
reduction programmes approach involving a wide range of risk reduction
options and by taking precautionary measures derived
from a broad-based life-cycle analysis.

Programme area E: i. By the year 2000, national systems for environmentally

Strengthening of national sound management of chemicals, including legislation
capabilities and capacities for and provisions for implementation and enforcement,
management of chemicals should be in place in all countries to the extent possible.

Programme area F: i. To reinforce national capacities to detect and halt
any illegal attempt to introduce toxic and dangerous
Prevention of illegal products into the territory of any State, in contravention
international traffic in toxic and of national legislations and relevant international illegal
dangerous products instrument; and
To assist all countries, particularly developing countries,
ii. in obtaining all appropriate information concerning illegal
traffic in toxic and dangerous products.

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After the UNCED conference in 1992, a voluntary tool known as Strategic Approach to
International Chemicals Management (SAICM) are developed and agreed by the Head
of States and governments. The SAICM contains 3 important documents, namely the
Dubai Declaration, the Overarching Policy Strategy and the Global Plan of Action. The
Dubai Declaration, endorsed by ministers, heads of delegations, representatives of civil
societies and the private sector, reiterated the importance of Chapter 19 in Agenda 21:

“The sound management of chemicals is essential if we are to achieve
sustainable development, including the eradication of poverty and
disease, the improvement of human health and the environment and the
elevation and maintenance of the standard of living in countries at all
levels of development” (UNEP, 2006).

The SAICM Overarching Policy Strategy identifies 5 thematic areas that could enhance the
sound chemicals management at national and international arena, as presented below:

Risk Reduction

Chemical risks refer to the probability of an adverse effect on human health and/or the
environment caused by chemicals. Chemicaled risks are often related to the chemical
hazards and exposure, where it is commonly express via the formula ‘Chemical Risks =
Chemical Hazard x Exposure. Chemical hazards are related to the intrinsic property of
a chemical, and this includes the physical hazards (e.g. explosive, flammable), health
hazards (e.g. acute toxicity, carcinogenicity) and environmental hazards (hazardous
to aquatic environment or ozone layer) posed by a chemical. Exposure refers to the
duration exposed to a chemical, and the duration can be short term or long term. By
referring to the formula above, chemical risk can be reduced or eliminated if we use
less hazardous chemicals, or the exposure can be reduced. For example, it was proven
that exposure to asbestos fibre can cause mesothelioma or lung cancer, hence by
substituting asbestos with other safer chemicals, such as cellulose fibre, the chemical
risk can be significantly reduced.

Knowledge and Information

Due to technology advancement and population growth, the production of chemicals
has been increasing every year. However, although scientists have the data and
information on the use of a chemical, the information related to chemical hazards and
risks are still be limited. Most of the chemicals are not assessed due to lack of data and
information. Hence, data and information sharing should be encouraged because this
will ensure adequate information is available to conduct chemical risk assessment and
management. In addition, data sharing can also reduce cost in chemical testing, where
number of testing on the same chemical can be reduced to avoid redundancy.

Governance

In most countries, management of chemicals falls under the purview of different
authorities. For example, management of pesticide is regulated by the Department of

271

Agriculture; management of chemicals at the workplace is regulated by the Department
of Labour; management of drug and poison is being regulated by the Department
of Health. The situation impedes efforts to establish a comprehensive and holistic
chemicals management system. Furthermore, some dual-use chemicals might not be
well regulated if there are gaps between the regulations enforced by different authorities.
Hence, the governance aspect should be enhanced. A good governance system can
close the gaps in chemicals management. It will serve as a comprehensive and holistic
administrative framework to attract business related to chemicals, and at the same time
prevent adverse effects on human health and the environment.

Capacity-building and Technical Cooperation

Capacity building is one of the vital components to enhance chemicals management
system. Key stakeholders from government, private sector, NGO and academia
must enhance their knowledge and skills pertaining to chemical risk assessment and
management. Technical assistance and cooperation from international organisations
or developed countries are encouraged, particularly to assist developing countries to
strengthen their respective chemicals management system.

Illegal International Traffic

Some chemicals might be banned due to their toxicity and risks when using and handling
the chemicals. Hence, apart from prohibiting manufacturing of the banned chemicals,
countries should also strengthen their enforcement at the country’s borders to prevent
illegal import of banned chemicals.

INITATIVES OF THE DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENT (DOE) IN CHEMICALS
MANAGEMENT

As far as Malaysia is concerned, chemical and chemical products is ranked second in
the top 10 of Malaysia’s import and export products. Chemical and chemical products
served as an important area for Malaysia’s economic growth and was identified as one
of the priority subsectors in the Malaysia Productivity Blueprint – Driving Productivity
of the Nation. The prioritization of subsector is based on (EPU, 2017): (i) contribution
to GDP; (ii) share of workforce; (ii) opportunity for productivity improvement; (iv) high
multiplier effect; and (v) readiness to implement productivity improvement. The blueprint
also recommends five subsector-specific initiatives for chemical and chemical products
(Table 11.4). These recommended initiatives are expected to enhance productivity and
to boost economic growth in the chemicals and chemical products sector. Nonetheless
the aspect of chemical governance is not covered in the recommended initiatives.

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Table 11.4: Initiatives Recommended by the Malaysia Productivity Blueprint for the Chemical
and Chemical Products
Source: EPU, 2017

INITIATIVES DESCRIPTION

1st initiative: To address the gap between theoretical chemical research and
solutions feasible for industry, a chemicals Centre of Excellence will
Establish be established to spearhead chemical productivity improvement
chemicals Centre initiatives. This Centre will provide an immersive experience in
of Excellence built advanced technologies, help enterprises navigate relevant technology
on clear strategies vendors and enable easy access to best practice benchmarks and
for chemicals and information on future industry trends, with the end goal to ensure
chemical products enterprises move to high value production and enable continuous
subsector productivity improvement. Furthermore, the Centre of Excellence will
enable collaborative relationships between academia, large enterprises
and SMEs through the sharing of experiences and key lessons from
research or ventures undertaken. This will aid the development and
launch of various pilot projects between the Centre and industry. By
evaluating past experiences, reviewing current trends and periodically
tracking effectiveness, these pilot projects will be designed to encourage
domestic enterprises to collaborate with the Centre and further enable
continuous productivity improvements.

2nd initiative: The Blueprint proposes a collaboration framework between selected
industry players and relevant education and training institutions, with
Deepen effective tracking mechanisms. This pilot scheme will ensure that
collaboration educational institutions receive input on updated technological advances
between industry and trends related to the industry to enable more targeted curriculum
players and planning as well as research funding. The collaboration will also allow
educational industry players to articulate their required skill sets and provide
institutions offering input on the feasibility of proposed research based on experience on
chemical-related the ground. It will also include a comprehensive framework that will
courses outline potential collaborations for long apprenticeships, sponsored
research and industry-led workshops to develop soft skills, focusing on
developing industry-ready graduates. By providing university students
the opportunity to experience practical training in the industry, it will also
encourage them to develop a career in chemicals in the future, creating
a quality pipeline of talent for the sector.

3rd initiative: A systematic evaluation of industry SMEs is recommended to identify
enterprises with high potential for growth and operational improvement.
Provide technical, These SMEs will then be supported through mentorship programmes
digital and with large enterprises to improve their portfolio mix, operational
management efficiency, commercial strategies and general management. Ultimately,
support to enhance these SMEs will be supported in improving their competitive advantage
SME capabilities by strategically leveraging on available digital capabilities and
incorporating new business models to explore new ways of working.
The support framework and training content will be streamlined
through partnerships with relevant bodies such as the HRDF and
the aforementioned chemicals Centre of Excellence to ensure the
accountability and transparency of the processes.

273

INITIATIVES DESCRIPTION
4th initiative:
Enable SMEs to The Blueprint recommends identifying competitive spaces where
move towards domestic SMEs can thrive and setting a clear, attainable pathway for
high value add them to conduct thorough analysis of downstream supply gaps. By
components in the systematically addressing the barriers that prohibit enterprises from
chemical value moving towards high value add segments, better targeted support
chain can be provided to encourage vertical integration of the currently
fragmented chemicals and chemical products subsector. This will steer
5th initiative: chemical SMEs away from focusing solely on low value add primary
Provide support manufacturing. To ensure the success of SMEs within this initiative,
to high potential comprehensive strategic partnerships between chemical SMEs and
SME to expand larger downstream chemical players will be encouraged and facilitated
internationally to enable knowledge and technology transfers. The Centre of Excellence
will be the cornerstone driving the initiative, ensuring continuous focus
on productivity improvements of all enterprises regardless of their
position in the value chain.

The gradual saturation of the local chemicals market coupled with the
lack of resources by SMEs to internationalise creates a challenging
landscape for the subsector. To address this concern, there is a need
to provide strategic support to high potential chemical SMEs to expand
internationally. Hence, the Blueprint proposes the compilation of a list of
chemical SMEs with the potential to expand internationally, especially
those that successfully completed up-skilling programmes as proposed
in 2nd Initiative. Through collaboration with the Centre of Excellence,
these enterprises will be primed with growth strategy guidance and the
relevant knowledge for internationalisation. Additionally, the Centre of
Excellence will be a significant resource centre for SMEs within the
subsector to seek aid and assistance for expansion.

In order to strengthen chemicals management in Malaysia, the Department of
Environment (DOE) initiated the Environmentally Hazardous Substances Notification
and Registration (EHSNR) Scheme in 2009. By referring to the Environmental Quality
Act 1974 (EQA 1974), EHS means “any natural or artificial substances including any
raw material, whether in a solid, semi-solid or liquid form, or in the form of gas or vapour,
or in a mixture of at least two of these substances, or any living organism intended
for any environmental protection, conservation and control activity, which can cause
pollution”. Taking into account the mandate given under EQA 1974, the purpose of
establishing the EHSNR scheme is to collect and provide the necessary information in
order to enable DOE to identify substances of concern in the country, make decisions
on how to manage these substances in a safe and appropriate manner and hence
use the data and information submitted by industry to develop Malaysian chemicals
register (Department of Environment Malaysia, 2012). Subsequently, in the Year 2021
the EHSNR Scheme went through the process of upgrading and rebranding, hence it is
now called Environmentally Hazardous Substances Information System and is known
as MyEHS System.

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MyEHS System requires manufacturers and/or importers to notify DOE of the EHS
they have imported and/or manufactured. There are two types of notification: basic
notification and detailed notification. If the EHS imported and/or manufactured is listed in
the EHS reference list, manufacturers and/or importers are only required to provide the
basic data set (basic notification) (Table 11.5) (Department of Environment Malaysia,
2012). However, if the EHS is not listed in the EHS reference list, then manufacturers
and/or importers need to provide additional information (detailed notification) as shown
in Table 11.5.

Table 11.5: Data Required under MyEHS
(Source: DOE, 2012)

BASIC NOTIFICATION DETAILED NOTIFICATION

i. Substance identification (CAS No., EC i. Substance identification (CAS No., EC

No. or Index No.); No. or Index No.);

ii. Annual tonnage in metric tonnes; ii. Annual tonnage in metric tonnes;

iii. Use of the substance; iii. Use of the substance;

iv. Concentration interval of substance iv. Concentration interval of substance
in raw materials or finished products in raw materials or finished products
(maximum and minimum concentration); (maximum and minimum concentration);
and
v. Country of export (if imported);
v. Country of export (if imported)
vi. Data on substance identification;

vii. Data on physical chemical properties;

viii. Data on physical hazards;

ix. Data on health hazards;

x. Data on environmental hazards; and

xi. Overall GHS classification

Currently, the MyEHS System is a voluntary system where DOE encourage industry
to submit relevant data to DOE. However, due to the development of chemicals
management in Malaysia, for example, gazettement of the Occupational Safety and
Health (Classification, Labelling and Safety Data Sheet of Hazardous Chemicals)
(CLASS) Regulations 2013; as well as the establishment of Chemicals Information
Management System (CIMS) developed by the Department of Occupational Safety and
Health (DOSH), DOE is in the process of amending and upgrading the MyEHS System
in order to complement existing initiatives in Malaysia. In addition, DOE is also drafting
regulations on EHS to further strengthen the roles of DOE in managing chemicals,
particularly on EHS.

275

INTERNATIONAL OBLIGATIONS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENT
(DOE) IN CHEMICALS MANAGEMENT

In the perspective of chemical management in Malaysia, DOE mainly manage
environmentally hazardous substances and enforce scheduled wastes, manage the
environmentally hazardous substances notification and information system and fullfill
obligations towards international obligations and commitments under Multilateral
Environmental Agreements (MEAs) on chemicals and scheduled wastes. Among
the MEAs closely related the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary
Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal. Malaysia ratified this Convention
in 8 October 1993. The objectives are mainly towards the reduction of hazardous waste
generation and the promotion of environmentally sound management of hazardous
wastes, wherever the place of disposal, the restriction of transboundary movements of
hazardous wastes except where it is perceived to be in accordance with the principles of
environmentally sound management and a regulatory system applying to cases where
transboundary movements are permissible (Basel Convention, 2022).

Another important MEA related to chemicals management is the Rotterdam Convention
on the Prior Informed Consent (PIC) Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and
Pesticides in International Trade, which Malaysia ratified on 4 September 2002. This
treaty is mainly to promote shared responsibilities and cooperative efforts among Parties
in the international trade of certain hazardous chemicals in order to protect human
health and the environment from potential harm. Apart from that it also contributes to
the environmentally sound use of these hazardous chemicals, by facilitating information
exchange about their characteristics, by providing for a national decision-making process
on their import and export and by disseminating these decisions to Parties (Rotterdam
Convention, 2022). The DOE is the Designated National Authority (DNA) for Industrial
Chemicals, whereas the Department of Agriculture (DOA) is the DNA for Pesticides.

In addition, the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) is also
one of these treaties where the main objectives are to protect human health and the
environment from chemicals that remain intact in the environment for long periods,
become widely distributed geographically, accumulate in the fatty tissue of humans and
wildlife, and have harmful impacts on human health and the environment (Stockholm
Convention, 2022). Malaysia signed this treaty on 16 May 2002.

In order to enhance cooperation and coordination among the Basel, Rotterdam and
Stockholm conventions, their respective conferences of the Parties have taken a series
of decisions. This so-called “synergies process” aims to strengthen the implementation
of the three conventions at the national, regional and global levels by providing coherent
policy guidance, enhancing efficiency in the provision of support to Parties to the
conventions, reducing their administrative burden and maximising the effective and
efficient use of resources at all levels, while maintaining the legal autonomy of these
three multilateral environmental agreements. This unique approach is a successful
example to other parts of the global environmental agenda and demonstrates how to
enhance international environmental governance through coordination and cooperation
(BRS MEAs, 2022).

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Hence, beginning in the Year 2015, the ordinary meetings of the conferences of the
parties to the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm conventions was held back-to-back
which is prominently known as Meetings of the Conferences of the Parties to the Basel,
Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions (BRS COPs) which is held every alternate
year. The meetings include joint sessions among two or three of the conferences of the
parties on joint issues. The objective of holding the meetings in a coordinated manner is
to strengthen the implementation of the three conventions at the national, regional and
global levels, promote coherent policy guidance and enhance efficiency in the provision
of support to parties (BRS MEAs, 2022).

Besides all above, large-scale public health crises due to mercury poisoning, such as
Minamata disease led to the formation of Minamata Convention on Mercury. This is a
global treaty to protect human health and the environment from the adverse effects of
mercury. The main objective of this treaty is to protect human health and the environment
from anthropogenic emissions and releases of mercury and mercury compounds. It is
also solely dedicated to managing mercury and mercury compounds throughout their
life cycles and aims to reduce the use of mercury and ultimately phase out mercury
through utilisation of substitutes and other alternative technologies. Malaysia signed this
treaty on 24 September 2014 (Rotterdam Convention, 2022).

Malaysia has and will continue to play an active role in international obligations,
commitments and initiatives in chemicals management. Such participant represent a
most useful platform for sharing and gaining knowledge as well as experience in this
field.

WAY FORWARD

The chemicals management in Malaysia is being regulated by different authorities, and
this approach is being practised by other developing countries as well. However, as
chemicals are cross-cutting various sectors, there might be some gaps especially in the
context of chemical lifecycle. Hence, it is about time for Malaysia to establish Chemicals
Management Commission, where this commission will regulate and coordinate upstream
chemicals management in Malaysia.

REFERENCES

American Chemistry Council, 2021. 2021 Guide to the business of chemistry, American
Chemistry Council, Washington.

Basel Convention. 2022. http://www.basel.int/ (accessed 16 March 2022).

Bisarya, R.K.& Puri, S. 2005. The Bhopal gas tragedy – A perspective. Journal of Loss
Prevention in the Process Industries. 18, 209-212.

BRS MEAs. 2022. http://www.brsmeas.org/ (accessed 16 March 2022).

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Department of Environment Malaysia. 2012. Guidance for the industry on the notification
and registration scheme of environmentally hazardous substances (EHS) in Malaysia.
2nd Ed. Putrajaya.

Department of Environment Malaysia. 2022. MyEHS Portal. https://myehs.doe.gov.my/
portal/myehs/ (accessed 16 March 2022).

EPU. 2017. Malaysia Productivity Blueprint – Driving Productivity of the Nation.
Putrajaya: Prime Minister’s Department.

ILO & Fafo, 2021. A blast in the midst of crises: Impact of the Beirut port explosion on the
city’s enterprises, ILO Regional Office for the Arab States Aresco Centre.

Guglielmi, G. 2020. Why Beirut’s ammonium nitrate blast was so devastating. Nature.
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-02361-x (accessed 16 February 2022).

Mercuty Convention https://www.mercuryconvention.org/en (accessed 16 March 2022).

OECD. 2005. OECD series on chemical accident (No.14): Report of the OECD workshop
on lessons learned from chemical accidents and incidents.

OECD. 2008. Environmental outlook to 2030. Chapter 18: ‘Chemicals’.

Rotterdam Convention. 2022. http://www.pic.int/ (accessed 16 March 2022).

Sriramachari, S. & Chandra, H. 1997. The lessons of Bhopal (toxic) MIC gas disaster
scope for expanding global biomonitoring and environmental specimen banking.
Chemosphere 34: 2237 – 2250.

Stockholm Convention. 2022. http://www.pops.int/(accessed 16 March 2022)

UNEP. 2006. Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM).

UNEP. 2013. Cost of inaction on the sound management of chemicals.
UNEP. 2019. Global chemicals outlook II - From legacies to innovative solutions:
Implementing the 2030 agenda for sustainable development, UN Environment
Programme, Geneva.

United Nations. 1992. Agenda 21.

Visentin, S. 2005. Lessons learned from industrial chemical accidents: Italian and
international initiatives. In Simeonov, L. and Chirila, E. (eds). Chemicals as intentional
and accidental global environmental threats, 29-44. Netherlands: Springer.

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AUTHOR

Dr. Goh Choo Ta is the Director and Associate Professor at
Institute for Environment and Development (LESTARI), Universiti
Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM). He has more than 17 years of
experiences in the field of chemical governance and chemical safety.
Dr. Goh has been appointed by the Minister of KASA (Malaysia
Ministry of Environment and Water) as Technical Advisor for the
Minamata Convention on Mercury; and he has also been appointed
by Malaysia Ministry of Health as Environmental Health Expert in the
field of chemical governance and chemical safety. Dr. Goh is also the Advisory Editorial
Board member for ACS Chemical Health and Safety; the Editorial Board member for
the journal International Chemical Regulatory and Law Review, and as a member in the
National Steering Committee on Malaysia Global Environment Facility – Small Grants
Programme (GEF-SGP) under the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
Besides, Dr. Goh has been awarded as project leader/lead consultant for 22 research/
consultancy projects. Dr. Goh is currently a trainer for the professional training courses
that cover topics on chemical safety, chemical security and Globally Harmonised System
of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS).

Puan Thahirah Binti Kamarulzaman currently is the Deputy Director
at the Hazardous Substances Division, Department of Environment,
Headquarters, Putrajaya. Graduated in BSc (Environment) from
Universiti Putra Malaysia. Has served the Department of Environment
for 21 years. Experienced in the area of environmentally hazardous
substances, scheduled wastes management and international
relations related to the Multilateral Environmental Agreements
(MEAs) such as the Rotterdam Convention, Stockholm Convention
and Minamata Convention. Experienced in environmental negotiations, intervention
notes and country positions in both regional and international level. At present, actively
promotes initiatives on 4R Principal (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Recovery) in scheduled
wastes management, Authorised Automotive Treatment Facility (AATF), Circular
Economy and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) namely SDG 12 – to ensure
Sustainable Consumption and Production. Also leads the policy making and legislate
environmental regulations related to the scheduled wastes management. Has served
in various divisions in the Department of Environment such as Enforcement, Strategic
Communications and Assessment Division, including the State Offices namely DOE
Johor, DOE Selangor and DOE Kuala Lumpur focusing on operational activities. Was
also the lead and coordinator in managing the Sungai Kim Kim pollution incident in Pasir
Gudang, Johor which was a National issue in the Year 2019. Previously has also served
as a prosecuting officer for environmental crime cases.

279

To me a lush carpet of pine needles or
spongy grass is more welcome than the

most luxurious Persian rug.

- Helen Keller

Langkawi Island, Kedah.

Chapter 12

Environmental
Forensics and
its Application
in Environmental
Management

ENVIRONMENTAL FORENSICS AND ITS APPLICATION IN
ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT

Hafizan Juahir, Azimah Ismail, Norhazni Mat Sari & Mazlin Mokhtar

INTRODUCTION

Environmental forensic is related to environmental investigation encompassing
procedures and methods of evidence collection, measurement of data generated from
chemical analysis, and physical findings which enable a conclusive report by which the
environmental crime can be prosecuted. Environmental forensics approach has started
advocating by the authority and practiced in Malaysia. Environmental forensics is
important to determine the point source or non-point source from any source of pollution
which includes the chemical and biological systems. The Department of Environment
(DOE) leads or play an important stewardship of the environmental forensics in Malaysia.
A special forensic unit has been established by the DOE to support the Enforcement
Division in DOE Headquarters. A special forensic unit has been established by the DOE
to support the Enforcement Division in DOE Headquarters.

The standard operating procedures of environmental forensics approach by the DOE
which in accordance with the Environmental Quality Act 1974 and Environmental
Quality (Scheduled Waste) Regulation 2005. The Environmental Quality Act (EQA),
1974 has been stipulated to address the impacts of modern industries and technological
advancement which also focuses on the management of hazardous waste. The EQA
1974, is the masterpiece of environmental legislation that is administered under the
purview of the DOE Malaysia. This federal environmental law has been enacted
to provide the regulatory framework for the approach of monitoring, development,
prevention, control and protection, and serve as the present strategies for the modern
environmental management in Malaysia. Under the hazardous waste management
system, the enforcement program is embarked to address the investigation of the
peculliar hazardous waste issues, namely: (i) Hazardous waste generation and
compliances to the legislation; (ii) Hazardous waste management facilities; (iii) Illegal
dumping of hazardous waste; (iv) Importation and exportation of hazardous waste; and
(v) Contaminated land. The environmental forensics governance encompasses the
elements of structure and process much on the enforcement and investigation including
the three factors, namely planning, historical data and collection of evidence materials.

The evidence materials are later sent to the Chemistry Department, Malaysia to proceed
with the laboratory or analytical analysis by Approved Signatory with the issuance of
certificates on the test data to establish the case. The existence of evidence from the
analysis to the fact that enable the legal prosecution to the main culprit.

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ENVIRONMENTAL FORENSIC STRUCTURE IN ENFORCEMENT ACTIVITIES
The environmental forensic framework for enforcement in the Department of Environment
(DOE) consists of several main activities, from the examination of the location of
environmental crimes to the production and provision of defensible evidence in the
court of law, further aimed at prosecuting offenders to pay for rehabilitation actions. The
forensic investigative enforcement starts when the department received complaints over
the pollutions, an Environmental Officer (EO) or the Investigation Officer (IO) is assigned
to organize, coordinate, execute and monitor the implementation of the environmental
forensics where the process flow of the forensic works and the enforcement.
The Guidelines on Environmental Forensics in Enforcement provide information that
can contribute to the successful implementation of these three factors; planning,
historical data and collection of evidence materials. Therefore, the environmental
forensic team should consist of DOE officers as well as staff from specific institutions
with a combination of knowledge in the field of data analytics, engineering (chemical
and technological processes, field techniques and instrumentation), chemical (analysis
of laboratory samples, chemical reactions and processes) and legal (environmental).
The evidence materials are later sent to the Chemistry Department, Malaysia to proceed
with the laboratory or analytical analysis by Approved Signatory with the issuance of
certificates on the test data to establish the case. The existence of evidence from the
analysis to the fact that enable the legal prosecution to the main culprit. The process
flowchart of the Environmental forensics Governance is shown in Figure 12.1.

Remedial
Action

Accredited
Laboratory

Figure 12.1: A Flow Chart of Environmental Forensic Elements to Produce Defensible Data for
Prosecution Purposes as well as Recovery Cost for Cleaning-up Program/Action

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Interestingly, the modern environmental forensics however encompasses of the
integrative of the environmental laboratory analysis and data analytics (modern
chemometric techniques). These advance techniques offer a comprehensive forensic
investigation through differentiation of pollution sources, data interpretation in
determining the attributable factors related to environmental pollutions and causes.
Some of the techniques involved are chemical fingerprinting, speciation, radionuclide
dating, microscopic analysis, and data analytics. The challenge of the environmental
pollution nowadays is now alarming and bring many issues to the attention of the public
and relevant agencies. Conversely, with all the techniques employed in environmental
forensics the more information extracted and a comprehensive data interpretation can
be executed with a high reliability, precision and within a short period.

Environmental sustainability in Malaysia is being enhanced by various instrument such
as Malaysia Plans and National Policy on Environment. The National Policy on the
Environment (2002) stated in Paragraph 4.12 that: “Environmentally sound management
systems will be developed and strengthened for hazardous chemical and toxic wastes,
with particular reference to their storage, transportation, over land or sea, treatment
and disposal in which the forensic system is in need.” Therefore, the hazardous waste
management and the needs of environmental forensics approach is to be considered.
The 12th Malaysian Plan (2021-2025) focusing on three development dimensions, one
of them is the environmental sustainability to preserve and conserve the environment.
DOE is committed to responsible environmental forensics stewardship of its enforcement
immediate samplings during the occurrence of related environmental pollutions. The
Chemistry Department facilitates the DOE with the methods or techniques in handling
the chemical fingerprinting analysis for defensible scientific methods in any related
issues of environmental pollutions to serve justice.

Crimes and its investigation require this department is strictly way forward towards the
environmental pollution or contamination preventive measures to cripple the immoral
activities by the industry player, commercial and others dumping the scheduled wastes
into the rivers, waterbodies, etc. The Deputy of Ministry of Economic Affairs (MEA)
had stressed that the development dimensions of 12th Malaysian Plan would include
the evolvement of Industry Revolution 4.0 in the environmental sustainability which is
significant in the monitoring program in various environmental contaminations. Goal 14
under the 2030 Agenda for UNESCO (Sustainability Science, SGDs), the United Nations
urge the conservation and sustainability of the oceans, seas, and marine resources for
environmental sustainability.

Furthermore, the adopted Goal 14 stressing on the protection of the environment,
human health, and well-beings, and as well as the society’s economic at all levels. The
formulation of the EIA policy to attract foreign investment – guidelines under sustainability
– to the department’s needs. Efforts have been made by the Government through the
various Ministries and agencies to enhance the environmental forensics management
in the country, formulating directly and indirectly environmental related policies through
statutory approaches from the SDG 2030 Agenda, 12th Malaysian Plan direct to the
setting up the Special Division as in Figure 12.2.

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Figure 12.2: Flowchart of the Future Establishment of the Special Division to set up Plan of
Action on Environmental Forensics

The Environmental Forensics Department is to institute the Special Division to set up
Plan of Action to act on the environmental forensics related. Figure 12.2 is the general
composition of the environmental forensics team that needs to be formed to implement
the entire chain of environmental forensic values up to the point of cleaning. The
competency of the staff in the required environmental forensics team is likely to cross
the organizational structure of DOE as shown in Figure 12.3. DOE will lead key human
resources especially specialists and form formal relationships with certain individuals
within designated institutions especially specialists who are not required as full-time staff.

Figure 12.3: General Composition of the Natural Forensic Investigation Team (EFIT)
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Figure 12.4 : Mapping of Resources Required for the Implementation of Environmental
Forensic Investigations under the Jurisdiction of DOE.

Figure 12.5: Activity Flowchart at the Operational Stage for Environmental Forensic Investigation
Environmental Forensics Setup
In strengthening the environmental forensics, therefore an idea of establishing the
environmental forensics laboratory should be materialized. It is desired by the DOE
to establish a center or hub of environmental forensics laboratory at Head Quarters
Office, Putrajaya. DOE is among the governmental agencies that utilize the study
of environmental forensics to ensure national security and to ensure that all parties
are complying with environmental standards. The environmental forensics laboratory
contributes in a very significant manner in administration of criminal justice system by
providing scientific and fundamental information to investigating agencies and finally to

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the courts. Hence, planning for the setting up the laboratory should be made under one
roof covering all the facilities and DOE’s resources. The laboratory shall be in a well-
secured workplace as to maximize the efficiency, economical and secured evidence.
Thus, an increase in demand in environmental forensics therefore there is an urgent
need of having the environmental forensics in combatting the criminal investigation
immediately. So that DOE can be a center of administration in justice system with
full efficiency and unbiased manners, maintaining full operational efficiency, security
and preservation of evidence without contamination in solving the forensic analysis in
criminal justice that brings prosecution to court.

Accreditation of the environmental forensics laboratory is one of the most important
aspects with compliance of the international standards equipped with infrastructural
facilities in line with justice administration system with respect to sufficient human
resources. The accredited laboratory is pivotal in assuring well-established methods
are being used for forensic analysis to the latest advancements in the field. Another
requirement to focus on the professionals, they are also to undergo the continuous
training in their respective specialization for enhancement of knowledge, skills, abilities
and capabilities in the field of expert witness. These trainings provide another important
aspect in forensic analysis of knowledgeable and skillful employees as it contributes
decision making by the court of law towards acquittal or conviction.

Legal Provisions

The Environmental Quality Act 1974 (AKAS) has the strength of environmental
forensic elements although it does not explicitly state in its sections or regulations. For
successful prosecution of environmental crimes, DoE must prove, beyond reasonable
doubt, that a company or individual has knowingly polluted the environment, resulting
in environmental destruction that can only be restored with appropriate remedial action.
Scientific and technological knowledge is needed to collect and produce reliable data
from contaminated areas and be brought to court as comprehensive information that the
judge or jury can understand for the conviction of the guilty person. Therefore, the role
of environmental forensics is to generate defensible data (defensible data).

The responsibility of conducting the environmental forensic has been expanding among
the academia as well instead of the government agencies. In this relation, there is a
need to have a systematic and scientific evaluation of physical, chemical, and previous
information of the pollution events. This is important for the purpose of developing
defensible scientific regarding the source of origin and age of a contaminant and legal
conclusions.

TYPES OF ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION IN MALAYSIA

All types of environmental pollution in our surroundings in Malaysia are due to
industrialization, residential and treatment plants. The sources of pollution in general
are divided into point sources and nonpoint sources. Point sources are any or single
identifiable sources of contaminants or pollution where is it discharged from, such as

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wastewater treatment plant, industries, commercials, power plants, refineries, mines,
etc. (Figure 12.6). In Malaysia, three commons point source pollutants, namely sewage
or wastewater treatment plants, agricultural and industrial activities. Nonpoint sources
are those that are distributed over a wide geographic area, such as many diffuse
sources and atmospheric (e.g., runoff, precipitation, seepage, atmospheric deposition).
Nonpoint sources can also include mobile sources such as cars, buses, and trains.
Although each of these is a point source, they are moving and thus spread their great
impact over a large area. A typical nonpoint source of pollution would be urban runoff,
where the contaminant load may be the sum of thousands of small point sources within
the watershed.

Figure 12.6: The Diagram Shows how the Point and Nonpoint Sources of Pollution Could
Cause Contamination Into the River Systems Starting from Upstream Towards Downstream

within the River Basin.
Most of the contamination or pollution from developing countries such as Malaysia being
generated from the multiple sources of contamination from various sectors, namely, the
extensive industrial areas make it very difficult to trace the origin of contaminants and
agricultural activities. It has been observed various pollution that normally happened in
river and coastal areas affected the ecosystems where the contaminants or pollutants
flowing into the environmental compartments or natural water systems such as rivers,
streams, lakes, ponds, oceans, etc. All types of the anthropogenic factors such as
industrial activity, waste disposal, navigation, agricultural, and municipal uses have
seriously altered the ecosystems and food supply chain of fishes and seafoods.
While the hydrocarbon compounds such as Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs),
the accumulation of contaminants that frequently released into the coastal environment

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as resulted from refinery plants. It contains among these, PTEs (e.g., As, Cd, Cu, Cr,
Hg, Pb, Zn). There are four main kinds of hydrocarbons: Alkanes, Alkenes, Alkynes, and
Aromatic hydrocarbons. Each of these kinds differs from one another in many aspects
but the core difference is the number of carbon-to-carbon bonds in their structure.
Special attention should have been given as these toxic substances can be harmful
even at low concentrations, however depending on their properties. Activities like mining
and industry activities, oil combustion, power plants, and chemical manufacturing are
the attributable factors to the generation of long-term health hazard substances in the
environment. These hydrocarbon compound incalcitrant towards environment resulted of
long-term accumulation of aromatic hydrocarbons in the waterbodies and groundwater.
Moreover, hydrocarbons have different molecules with water thus they are completely
dissolvable organic compounds in water that can damage wildlife habitats as well as
affecting human health by built-up concentration of toxin such as pesticide in consumer
bodies. It may be correct to say that direct exposure of consumers to hydrocarbon
compounds through consumption of food or contaminated water can devastate human
body due to high accumulation of toxin.

Due to impact of hydrocarbons are causing most of pollution cases worldwide, therefore
several technologies have been developed for removing or immobilizing PTEs, to reduce
environmental risks such as, PAHs are organic pollutants, known as carcinogens,
mutagens, and malfunction of fetus of pregnancy women in other countries like United
States. Nevertheless, this kind of technology for extraction of PAHs or any permanent
hydrocarbons from the environment is still unavailable in Malaysia. Hydrocarbons is
crucial of such important in many industries used as lubricants and others, even food
have some degree of hydrocarbons in particular the waxy food (paraffin wax). Lubricants,
all these processes may involve with the complete and incomplete combustion of organic
matter. Any kind of polyaromatic hydrocarbons when released into the atmosphere may
condensate to which contribute to the significant adverse effects (e.g., 5-methylchrysene
or 6-methylpyrene) in the human bodies. Importantly, the higher molecular weight of
PAH, the more toxicity of the substances become.

In refineries, one of the sources of pollution are leakages prevalence in such industry as
the leakages come from storage tanks. Moreover, the refineries require tanks to be taken
out of service periodically and to be visually inspected for leaks. However, this standard
is often ignored since inspection can be very costly. Buried pipelines within refinery
boundaries represent another source of leaks, and they have caused more groundwater
contamination than the more visible storage tanks. Tank washings and sludge from
storage tanks and refineries, including those from the cleaning of oil storage tanks, can
be a source of contamination since they contain breakdown products. In addition, tank
washings can generate substantial volumes of waste, usually with medium to low oil
contents. Typical sources are oily bilge water, oily ballast water, water from the jetting
and cleaning of tanks both onboard ships and at land-based installations, and true tank-
cleaning residues. The range of oils encountered in the generation of these wastes can
be broad and can include accumulated oil sludge and sediment, tank scale, and even
grit from grit blasting and related cleaning work.

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METHOD OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL FORENSICS

There are two routes by which the environmental forensics management are performed
in Malaysia. Details of the respective routes are discussed as the following:

Site Investigation

The most important factor in environmental forensics is site investigation techniques.
The site investigation is the ones important to identify when the discharge (s) occurred,
how the discharges occurred, from where those discharges originate, and to allocate
remediation costs. These considerations are important to the DOE, Malaysia for liability
analysis of remediation, or when estimating the amount of pollution originates from
specific identifiable or non-identifiable different discharges sources. The Forensic Site
Investigation using the existing site assessment data and historical information and/
or using new data that will be collected from the site in accordance with applicable
rules or per Department guidance. Generally, it is imperative that the site sampling of
environmental samples (e.g., water, oil, soil) pollution are carried out in compliance with
the guidelines and standard of procedures. There should be at least one sampling point
directly after the clean water is sampled out. The results of these investigations shall
be used for analytical strategy to finalize the Department’s review or shall be used to
support the DOE’s position in court of law or other form of litigation. Indeed, throughout
the investigation process the Department would provide its professional opinion and
provide legal opinions in any document presented herein.

Site Samplings

There are two sampling techniques of Forensic Site Investigation, namely in-situ and
ex-situ.

In-situ Measurement

The in-situ sampling is carried out using the in-situ water quality instrument
sampling points. Samples such as soils, sediments, oil spillage are sampled at
numerous locations, properly labelled, and identified at each of the sample bottles.
At least three targets are needed to get a reliable estimate of uncertainty from
sampling at each of the sampling location. It is possible to strategize the rationale
site sampling and analytical analysis. For analytical analyses reliability, therefore
the greater number of replicates the better the estimated standard deviation will be.
Budget constraints is the common in the environmental forensic investigation, thus
a practical strategy of sample design is required.

The upstream sampling points of the stream (located at the upper stream where
a bit far from the polluted point) are used as a reference or blank procedural for
background values (Figure 12.7), for instance, upstream from the industrial
discharge sites (P1), near the discharge sites (P2 through P6) and about 30 m
downstream the discharges (P7). For authenticity purpose, three (3) samples are

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taken at each sampling point or at the sampling spots. The blank procedural is used
in laboratory analysis, a sample that does not contain the environmental matrix.
Water is commonly used in replacing the environmental matrix when preparing
procedural blanks. In common, the procedural blanks are used to assess any
presence of contaminants or interference caused by, for example the apparatus or
reagents or any part of the measurement procedure. The procedural is one of the
validation methods brought through the entire laboratory procedure and analysed
in the same manner as a test sample. Figure 12.8 shows the sample of oil slicks
at the contaminated site (liquid) on February 28, 2016, in proximity to the Tanjung
Pelepas port, Pasir Gudang, Johor.

Figure 12.7: The Diagram Shows an Example how the Degradation of the Surface Water
Pollution from the Exact Dumped Site Towards the Downstream of the River System with Six

Sampling Points (P1 to P6).

Figure 12.8: Oil Slicks at the Contaminated Site (Liquid) on February 28, 2016, in Proximity to
the Tanjung Pelepas Port, Pasir Gudang, Johor.
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Ex-situ Measurement

For forensic investigation, the contaminated samples from the original contaminated
locations are taken back to the laboratory for analysis, known as ex-situ. The
measurement of ex-situ needs proper sampling techniques for authenticity and
validation purposes to ensure the contaminated samples are valid avoiding the
fallacy. It can give excellent and convincing data or result for winning evidence
or evidence proven for court cases. All the activities of ex-situ must in compliance
with laboratory analysis and procedure, starting from the technique site sampling,
samples’ storage, the period of samples from the samples collection until
accomplishment the laboratory analysis, shall adhere process’s steps for preventing
any technical wrongdoing. Most importantly, the sample is analysed in the certified
or accredited laboratory and handled by a qualified Chemist.

Laboratory Analysis

It is so imperative to have complete laboratory facilities and equipment to carry out
the forensic investigation. Sufficient equipment in laboratories allowing detection
elements of substances that cause contamination in view of the presence of various
types of new-generation chemicals. Analytical methods have been developed for
handling many types of the complexity samples or pollutants. In environmental
forensic approaches enable the identification of pollutants origin and age. Therefore,
the selection of an appropriate method(s) leading to the expert decision is something
to be focus upon. For this purpose, the selection and the decision of the approach
requires a comprehensive understanding of the techniques used associated with
their advantages and limitations.

Samples of common pollutants varies, which includes polycyclic aromatic
hydrocarbons (PAHs), crude oil and related refined products, heavy metal
contamination, such as mercury and arsenic, sewage, pesticides, herbicides.
Interestingly, all the samples are the combination of the environmental forensic
knowledge and the general forensic sciences.

Laboratory Inventory

The implementation a quality management system in laboratory is so important to
properly managed stored items (chemical and equipment). Nowadays, the ordering
of the laboratory items can be done on-line for science lessons and practical
experiments. With a quality management system in place, it can help laboratory
provide the analysis with the most accurate and high precision results every time.
Quality control in laboratory can further improve efficiency of quantitative analysis
and measurement control to achieve the compliance of the laboratory standard
to better outcomes. The laboratory equipment is one of the 12 quality system
essentials (QSEs). The quality system essentials are organization, customer focus,
facilities and safety, personnel, purchasing and inventory, equipment, process

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management, documents and records, information management, nonconforming
event management, assessments, and continual improvement.
Inventory management software is a software system for tracking inventory levels,
orders, sales, and deliveries. It can also be used in the manufacturing industry
to create a work order, bill of materials and other production-related documents.
Companies use inventory management software to avoid product overstock and
outages. It is a tool for organizing inventory data that before was generally stored
in hard-copy form or in spreadsheets. With having lab inventory management
software, labs can more effectively monitor inventory, assess stock levels, forecast
stock reordering, and eliminate inaccuracies when keeping track of resources.
These solutions facilitate everything from simple labelling and documentation to
maintaining auditable records and databases, as well as purchasing and scheduling.

Figure 12.9: Inventory Management System
Sample Preparation and Analysis
The site samplings, sample preparation and laboratory analysis with the latest analytical
techniques and methods employed in forensic analysis to ensure the proper facilitation
of justice. Owing to this, the analysis shall always be updated with the latest trends in
the forensic analysis of samples encountered at crime scenes. With the advancements
of statistical techniques available in the market, this specialized program has improved
the level of qualitative analysis such as environmetric or multivariate and taggant

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technology the level of analysis in forensic science. The statistical techniques used
in the environmental forensics to allow the Chemist or user for performing complex
dataset. These emergent statistical techniques are leading to more precise, accurate,
reliable, and specific examination of forensic samples. Therefore, the evolution of
forensic sample analysis as well as these emerging trends and new technologies is
crucial in forensic investigation.

The forensic investigation reveals an entire procedure combining the detective stories
such as crime scene investigation (CSI) with court litigation and the innovative science
to solve the problem of the environmental problems. It covers from the method of
sampling, experimental practice according to protocols used in forensic science
laboratories for various samples through different analytical techniques and validation
techniques using the various latest statistical analysis, which finally followed by the data
or results interpretation leading to the investigation findings. Since the environmental
forensics is comprehensively examine the interface between the analytical chemistry
and trace evidence in forensic science, therefore all the experiments are run in triplicate.
Replicates are normally conducted during the laboratory experiment to provide an
important quality control of the experiments and reducing the human erroneous. Most
significantly the repeated-experiment or observation in which it provides evidence that
the results are reproducible. The laboratory analyses are performed in such way to
obtain the independent data followed by subsequent validation via statistical analyses. A
statistical inference is applied incorporated with the comprehensive data interpretation,
which includes confidence intervals (CIs) or statistical significance testing. In forensic
science, any values from an outlying replicate shall be omitted to achieve a convincing
explanation, although repeated analysis of the experiment is a safer strategy.

Quality Assurance and Quality Control (QA/QC)

The Quality Assurance and Quality Control (QA/QC) was institutionalized to
achieve a high precision and accuracy of the laboratory analysis during the
laboratory analytical works. The major applications and limitations are based on
methods of standard Environmental Protection Act (EPA), European Committee
for Standardization (CEN), applied to all measurements including chemical and
equipment used throughout the laboratory analysis.

Uncertainty / Shortcomings in Environmental Forensics

The uncertainty estimation is employed in the science forensic to assess the
uncertainties of measurement. The uncertainties in science forensic has become
a controversial case over decades in association with courtroom litigation. Some
of the cases, the forensic investigation restricted to the data interpretation and
sampling carried out. It is necessary to undertake the independent analysis such
as chemometric or multivariate analysis in order the judgement of conviction can
accept the defence arguments based on evidence of the contamination. Obviously,
under judicial law, fallacies on the pollution cases can win court case during hearing
or trial in court, should the data interpretation of the pollution evidence available.

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The analysis like chemometric or multivariate would increase the confidence interval
to 95%. During the trial case, the respective agencies, Chemistry Department,
Malaysia is always confronted with multiple fallacies of the forensic investigation
effect, where prosecutors, scientists, and judges, allow their logical fallacies
override the scientifically environmental forensics practice. Unfortunately, this is a
characteristic of miscarriages of justice resulting from a vagueness of convicting the
culprits upon the contamination incident, leading to the loss of Government side.

Data Analytics in Environmental Forensics

Data analytics plays an important role in the field of environmental forensics that has
expanded greatly in the last 20 years. Increased of analytical chemistry data varies
to a multidisciplinary data requires the powerful statistical and other data analytics
applications. The importance of data analytics in environmental forensic is undoubtful as
it enables the identifying of the most significant parameters or contaminants polluting the
environment. With accurate and precise interpretation of data through the observations
of contaminants with the associated environment, can provide a clarification of events.
Indeed, the statistical analysis or data analytics are substantially incorporated into
forensic soil science, therefore there are much room for further development in this area.
Moreover, it provides a thorough generic consideration of probabilistic reasoning, as well
as pertinent considerations specifically in relation to soil. For instance, oil spill, water
quality etc like other analysis in forensic science, can be validated to provide accurate
and precision of direct evidence during the later stage of evidence investigation, shall be
utilized as documentary evidence against a specific suspect. Such investigation evidence
is often comparative; however, it is clearly pivotal for the forensics expertise to assist
the court providing the third opinions and the reviewed evidence by the prosecution and
defense experts of the results.

However, the investigative environment nowadays reveals significant changes with the
enhancement of technology in equipment, enhancing the potential for environmental
analysis, enabling the identification of new type of contaminants or source. For example,
the investigative works support the police department for environmental criminal justice.
The UK Parliamentary Select Committee (House of Commons Science and Technology
Committee 2005) stating that the intelligence system is the main role in forensic science
to the investigative works for criminal justice. In line with this, the reporting of statistical
analysis plays an important role in the validation of analytical analysis and as well as the
administration of justice for the evaluation of evidence. The fact is that data analytics can
infer the entire investigative forensics that facilitates good quality and reliable data for a
precision and promising data.

Uniqueness of Environmental Forensic Evidence

In common, the environmental forensics combines scientific disciplines and the
previous research approach; crime scene contamination events, the parties or the
culprits involved and when and how the locations get polluted or contaminated.
Noticeably, chemical contaminants or pollutants are transported by water as it flows

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across the land. In addition, the applications of environmental forensics are based
on laws and practices, including various responsibility for environmental litigation,
hazardous waste sites, site investigations for property transfer, and determination
of the causes of personal injury in the context of a toxic tort.

For instance, soil a mixture of inorganic and non-organic components can become
the environmental and criminal case investigations. Since the investigative works
involve with the complexity, therefore forensic science requires for both an intelligence
analysis and evidential factors to find the truth. Careful examination on assessing
the characterization of soil organic components by considering spatial and temporal
variations on different scales is primarily important to be emphasized in forensic.
For instance, similar compounds of plant wax containing aromatic hydrocarbons
also found in soil, together with organic substances of human activities. The benefit
of analytical analyses and statistical approaches provide a new development, the
role of importance of forensic investigations in both civil and criminal legal contexts.

Environmental Forensics and Complex Data Analysis

Environmental forensic is performed to undertake the collection, labelling,
storage, laboratory analysis, retrieval data, interpretation, statistical analysis, and
interpretation of complexity environmental data sets. The forensic chemists and
data analysts work closely into data complex analyses into manageable, discrete
tasks. The forensic personnel and data teams routinely manage and evaluate large-
scale environmental data sets involving many samples and records.

The requirements for data interpretation, data quality and validation in environmental
forensics is significantly needed in regulatory and court of justice. The ability of
statistical analysis enabling the comparison, integration, and analysing data sets
requires profoundly understanding which data are truly significant and outliers (less
significant). Environmental Standards has in-depth knowledge and experience in
assessing sampling, laboratory, and analytical method reliability (for internal and
external data interpreters), so it is enabling the dataset management, focus the
evaluations, and validation. In addition to assessing and managing sample data,
Environmental Standards provides robust capabilities in data interpretation.

The hydrocarbon pollutants in complex environmental samples such as oil spill at
marine areas, such a huge data is obtained from the chromatography spectrometry
flame ionization detector (GCFID) and gas chromatography mass spectrometry
(GCMS). Chemometric or multivariate techniques demonstrate a reliability and
promising in processing big data from high-dimensional chromatographic systems.
During the analytical analysis at laboratory, it must be handled with extra careful,
as it involves with chemical and other highly sensitive substances. Chemometric
techniques are applied to provide the classification of the samples soil or oil spill etc
according to the homogeneity within the group via ClusterAnalysis (CA), Discriminant
Analysis (DA) enabling the discriminating the most significant contaminants
from the complexity of the dataset that polluting the environment and principal

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component analysis (PCA) for determining the strong factor loadings attributable
to the contamination. In some cases, prediction of the trend or behaviour of the
contaminants that can be performed using the artificial neural networks multilinear
regression (MLR), and machine learning.
From the chemometric techniques or multivariate analysis enable an investigation
on the behaviour or pattern components in different water classes and selection
of most relevant components. Data analysis describes strategy can be used as a
promising tool to facilitate both feature selection through a reliable classification
and interference-free identification of pollutants in nontargeted and class-wise
environmental studies. Indeed, through the environmental forensic, the scientist
provides necessary assistance in ensuring those culprits in environmental pollution
can be brought to justice.
Moreover, data analytics through chemometric techniques contributes a data
manipulation clustering the contaminants type of (oil spills) or source apportionment
into several groups with regards to its homogeneity properties of chemical
compounds (Figure 12.10). In this context, contaminants that having similar
chemical properties is clustered in the same group, but the contaminants with
dissimilar chemical properties are clustered in different group. Figure 12.11 through
discriminant analysis, the discriminant function discriminated or extracted the most
significant variables of contaminants from the complex dataset of oil spills event
according to its intrinsic chemical properties within a short execution period and
save cost for prompt legal conclusions.

Figure 12.10: Dendrogram Shows the Clustering of Oil Spill Source into Four Clusters / Groups.

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Figure 12.11: Plot of Discriminant Functions for Hydrocarbon Oil from the Actual Sites of Oil
Spill Event Based on the Intrinsic Chemical Properties of DA Forward Stepwise.

Data Analytics Thinking Shapes the Courtroom

Data analytics applications is way forward as a dynamic solution system in assisting
the environmental forensics investigation and analytical sciences which are now being
used extensively for validating and interpreting massive data of the laboratory analysis.
When forensic practitioners, lawyers and other expert witnesses have knowledge and
understand the use of data analytics or statistical analysis appropriately, therefore
juries have well-informed decision on verdict about the guilt or innocence of a crime
suspect. However, misrepresenting data analytics in the courtroom can jeopardise court
decision.

The inaccurately used the statistical interpretation of science forensics in the Sally
Clark case happened in the United Kingdom, this infamous criminal case led to grave
injustices. Owing to this, the statistical analysis is prevented wrongful convictions if
correct interpretation of evidence available. For a comprehensive use in the forensic
investigation, a group of forensic scientists, jurors, lawyers, and judges need to
understand the concept of validation of evidence through the techniques or approach of
statistical analysis.

CASE STUDY OF ENVIRONMENTAL CRIME

Oil Samples of JAS294A and JAS294C

One of special case where the DOE has conducted a forensics investigative works
over ship-to-ship (STS) illegal oil transferring within the Straits of Johore in a few years

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CHAPTER 12
Environmental Forensics and Its Application in Environmental Management

back. The Investigative Officer of DOE had taken two samples from the ships and oil
spillage in the surface of seawater brought to the Chemistry department for evidence
examination of analytical analysis, named as (a) JAS294B and (b) JAS294D were from.
From this forensics science the evidence examination of pattern-matching contributes
a very significant manner. Through the profiling signatures distinguishes by n-alkanes
distribution profiles of heavy fuel oil (HFO) samples (a) JAS 294B and (b) JAS294D were
lit((eaar))ally matched (Figure 12.12).

(a)

(b(()bb))

Figure 12.12: The Chart Indicates the (a) Pattern-Matching of the Oil Samples JAS 294B (HFO)
and JAS 294D (HFO), (b) Standardized Coefficients with 95 Percent Confidence Interval for the
Figure 4.32: The chart innddiicCcaaottneefssorttmhheiety((aoa)f)tphpaeattPtteeartrntne--rmnm-aMattaccthchihinengdg.oofftthheeooiillssaammpplelessJJAASS229944BB
(HFO) and JAS294D (HFFOO)),, ((bb)) ssttaannddaarrddiizzeeddccooeeffffiicciieennttsswwiitthh9955ppeerrcceennttccoonnffidideennccee

intervaall ffoorr tthhee ccoonnffoorrmm29iit9tyyoofftthheeppaattteerrnn--mmaattcchheedd