The Johor Department of Environment (DOE) inspected four factories in Pasir Gudang this afternoon.

The four factories are among the 30 factories short-listed for inspection following the air pollution incident last Thursday.

Bernama, which also followed the operation, found that three of the factories inspected were chemical factories while another was a recycling plant for scheduled wastes.

The inspection, which started at 11am, involved eight DOE personnel.

The factories inspected were located four to five kilometres from Sekolah Agama Taman Mawar, the first school to be hit by the incident.

Based on observation, DOE used equipment such as Multirae Lite Gas Detector and a Gasmet monitoring system to record the air quality outside the factories.

The DOE officer in charge said these operations would continue over the next several days to identify the gas which caused the breathing difficulties among the affected students and pupils.

‘’The operation (air quality reading examination) will also be conducted by the hazmat (unit) from the Fire and Rescue Department to ensure we can cover more factories,’’ he said.

Yesterday, Johor Menteri Besar Dr Sahruddin Jamal said 30 factories in Pasir Gudang would be investigated in the effort to identify the source of the pollution in the area.

- Bernama