Pasir Gudang is an industrial district in Johor Bahru that is about three kilometres away from Punggol, northeast of Singapore.

Recently, pollution incidents there have been a cause for concern for some Singapore residents living relatively near that area.

Two Members of Parliament (MPs), Melvin Yong and Pritam Singh, filed parliamentary questions related to the Pasir Gudang pollution, seeking clarifications on the potential impact faced by Singaporeans.

Air and water quality in Singapore unaffected

Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Masagos Zulkifli addressed these questions in parliament on July 8, 2019.

He confirmed that the air and water quality in Singapore has remained unaffected by the spate of Pasir Gudang pollution incidents.

He added, in fact, that air and water quality in the northeast region of Singapore has been "comparable to the rest of Singapore" between 2008 and 2018.

Monitoring closely

The minister said precautionary measures have nonetheless been put in place.

The National Environment Agency (NEA) is monitoring our island's coastal water quality with eight buoy-based sensors placed around Singapore, including the Straits of Johor.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) has also deployed portable standoff chemical gas detectors in the northeast, which have not yet detected any toxic chemicals.

Five air quality monitoring stations across Singapore are also currently "continuously (monitoring)" the air quality at different parts of Singapore.

Criteria pollutants, including particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10) as well as Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) in the air, are measured at these stations.

NEA and SCDF are also in contact with Malaysia's Department of Environment (DOE) and Fire and Rescue Department (BOMBA), and will provide updates if there are developments, Masagos said.

Top photo from Google Maps and CNA video screengrab