EMISSIONS FROM KALLANG GASWORKS

Mr Loh Meng See asked the Minister for the Environment whether the emissions from the Kallang Gasworks are harmful to residents living in the vicinity; and whether he will ask the Public Utilities Board to take steps to neutralise the odour emitted from the Gasworks.

The Minister for the Environment (Dr Ahmad Mattar): Mr Speaker, Sir, Kallang Gasworks is an industrial plant. The emissions from the Gasworks arise from the combustion of naptha, the raw material for the manufacture of town gas. These emissions do not pose any health hazard to the residents. Normally, they are discharged through tall chimneys and dispersed in the atmosphere. But occasionally they are blown downwards by strong winds and residents in high-rise apartments nearby can smell them.

Such emissions from an industrial plant can be minimized but not totally eliminated. The PUB has therefore installed gas detectors to monitor their level, and sound an alarm if it increases. In the long-term, the Gasworks should be relocated away from populated areas. In fact, the Government has drawn up plans to redevelop the Kallang area, and intends to move the Gasworks out within 10 years.