By Selangor Journal Team
SHAH ALAM, Dec 27 — The Selangor Water Management Authority (Luas) has announced the completion of the oil residue cleanup from the sump and drains along the Karak Highway as of 9am today.
This follows overnight efforts by appointed contractors after a crash involving a palm oil tanker at KM27.9 of the highway towards Kuala Lumpur yesterday, which resulted in an oil spill.
Luas confirmed that Sungai Gombak was not affected during the operations.
“The situation at the site is now under control, with ongoing observation by Luas and Pengurusan Air Selangor Sdn Bhd personnel,” it said in a post on Facebook.
Additional inspections of the affected locations were conducted this morning to verify any residual oil impact, while the removal of collected oil waste packages by the vehicle owner remains pending.
State executive councillor for public health and environment Jamaliah Jamaluddin yesterday said that the cleanup process required significant effort due to the thickness of the grease, necessitating manual removal methods.
“As of 10.30am today, cleanup progress at the site was 60 per cent. The appointed contractor is working with Luas, Air Selangor, and Indah Water Konsortium (IWK),” she said yesterday.
“Four vacuum tankers from IWK were deployed to suction the oil residue from the highway sump, while manual cleanup is underway to expedite the process.”
Jamaliah added that Luas inspections revealed the spill, involving approximately 20 tonnes of oil, had entered a nearby drain, accumulating in the highway sump and affecting a tributary of Sungai Gombak.
This contamination disrupted raw water supply to the Sungai Gombak water treatment plant from 2am to 6pm on December 25.
The highway concessionaire, AFA Prime Bhd, responded promptly by using sawdust to absorb the oil on the road and constructing soil barriers in the drain to mitigate further spread.
According to Gombak police chief Noor Ariffin Mohamad Nasir, the crash occurred at 12.30am on December 25 when the tanker, en route from Kelantan to Port Klang, overturned near Genting Sempah, likely due to brake failure. The 41-year-old driver survived the incident.
