CHEMICAL WASTE

Dr Kanwaljit Soin asked the Minister for the Environment (a) whether the quantity of hazardous chemical waste produced by our industries has increased significantly from 1985 to 1994 and (b) how is the disposal carried out to ensure long-term safety.

Mr Mah Bow Tan: Factories either treat their chemical wastes in-house or send the wastes to approved treatment facilities.

Factories with in-house treatment facilities treat their liquid chemical wastes to required standards before discharge into the sewers.

Factories are allowed to send their chemical wastes to approved treatment facilities where a large proportion of the liquid chemical wastes is recovered for reuse. The chemicals recovered for reuse are mainly solvents and etchants. The remainder is treated to required standards before discharge into the sewers.

Solid chemical wastes are treated in-house or in approved facilities, and rendered suitable for disposal at our landfill.

New production processes that generate chemical wastes will be allowed only if the wastes can be properly treated and disposed of.

ENV monitors chemical wastes which are transported out of the factories for disposal or treatment at approved facilities. Statistics on such wastes were first compiled in 1987. In that year, there were 16,600 cubic metres of liquid chemical wastes and 1,250 tonnes of solid chemical wastes. In 1994, there were 55,800 cubic metres of liquid chemical wastes and 4,400 tonnes of solid chemical wastes.