Are Hydrogen Cyanide levels in Bukit Koman really safe?

Press Statement - 25 February 2013

Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM) queries the Department of Environment (DOE) whether the concentration and level of hydrogen cyanide (HCN) in the air in Bukit Koman, near Raub, Pahang declared safe by the Department, are actually safe and will not cause any adverse health effects to those who are exposed to the pollutant.

It was reported that in a statement to The Malay Mail, the DOE said monitoring of the environment adjacent to the Raub Australian Gold Mining Sdn Bhd (RAGM) gold processing plant here found that each reading of HCN was below the 4.7 parts per million (ppm) standard for safety and workers’ health set by the Department of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH). The readings were also well below the 10ppm standard set by the Cyanide Management Guidelines of the Department of Mineral and Energy, Western Australia.

However, SAM is of the opinion that the standards the DOE is using to conclude that the HCN levels are safe are NOT the correct standards. Stricter standards exist for inhalation reference exposure level as opposed to the ceiling limit of 4.7ppm for HCN, of which under Malaysia’s Occupational Safety and Health Regulations, an employer must ensure that the exposure of any person to the chemical hazard does not exceed the ceiling limit.

For instance, in California, there are standards stipulating that on a short-term basis, in order to prevent loss of coordination and loss of consciousness, due to cellular hypoxia of the central nervous system (CNS), 24-hour average levels of HCN should not exceed 340 µg/m3 (0.30ppm).

Whereas on a long-term basis, in order to prevent CNS effects, thyroid enlargement, and hematological disorders, annual average levels of HCN should not exceed 9µg/m3 (0.008 ppm).

Until the DOE can demonstrate that HCN levels are below these standards (0.3 ppm on a 24-hour basis, 0.008 ppm on an annual basis), it has no basis to conclude that hydrogen cyanide levels at Bukit Koman are safe for the residents living in the area, bearing in mind that they are not workers who have chosen to be exposed to this pollutant for the duration of their working hours only.

Furthermore, hydrogen cyanide is not the sole pollutant here and members of the community, especially vulnerable individuals, have been suffering ill health for extended periods, which they suspect is caused by exposure to several different pollutants.

We urge the responsible authorities to conduct long-term 24-hours continuous monitoring of air pollutants and to determine the source of emission. Ambient air quality guidelines for HCN and other pollutants must be set  and stricter standards must be used by the DOE to ensure protection of public health and the environment.

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Source: Consumer Association of Penang (CAP)

http://www.consumer.org.my/index.php/health/health-hazards/628-are-hydrogen-cyanide-levels-in-bukit-koman-really-safe

Cyanide exposure from gold mining real, say Bukit Koman residents (TMI)

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 7 — Irate Bukit Koman, Raub residents insisted today that they are exposed to unacceptable levels of cyanide exposure daily from the Raub Australian Gold Mining (RAGM) plant despite claims to the contrary.

The residents claimed they are exposed to daily cyanide concentrations of 0.5 to 0.8ppm daily, although Pahang Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Adnan Yaakob alleged in September last year that the issue is an agenda of opposition parties instead of an environmental issue.

The levels were obtained from a monitoring board posted at SJK (C) Yuh Wah, around 1km away from the plant, which displays hydrogen cyanide exposure measured in parts per million (ppm).

“We found that every minute hydrogen cyanide is detected in the air, and the highest reading was 1.11ppm,” Tan Hui Chun, a member of the Ban Cyanide Action Committee (BCAC), told reporters here.

BCAC criticised the 10ppm maximum permissible level stipulated by the Department of Environment (DOE), claiming that it was way higher than the 4.7ppm level set by the Occupational Safety and Hazard Act (OSHA) 1994.

The group noted that while New York’s standard was set at 0.03ppm and the Czech Republic’s is 0.007ppm, Malaysia has no set level for hydrogen cyanide exposure in residential areas.

They stressed that they are not against the project, but urged RAGM and the government to follow a strict process to ensure that people are not being exposed to poisonous hydrogen cyanide.

Dr Tan Ka Kheng, a professor with the HELP College of Arts and Technology with a background in chemical and environmental engineering, expressed his shock over the irresponsible absence of environmental safeguards in the plant concerning hydrogen cyanide emission.

“If we have a limit, for example 4.7ppm per worker in the factory, for the public usually it’s at least 10 times less,” said Dr Tan, who acts as an adviser for BCAC.

“This is terrible. The only time we heard about cyanide poisoning was during the war.”

Hydrogen cyanide gas was used by Nazi Germany during the Holocaust for mass execution in the gas chambers, and was also part of the United States and Soviet Union’s chemical warfare arsenal.

The environmental group has gone through several defeats since the plant was opened in 2009 to extract gold from ore using a controversial process involving highly poisonous cyanide.

Just yesterday, the Ministry of Health rejected three of the five experts nominated by BCAC for a joint research panel with the ministry to investigate health effects of the plant.

Renowned international cyanide management and gold mining expert Dr Glenn C. Miller was rejected since his involvement would require lengthy bureaucratic approvals to obtain a working permit.

The other two experts were PAS MP for Kuala Selangor Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad and PSM MP for Sungai Siput Dr Michael Jeyakumar, both rejected for their political affiliations. They are both public health experts trained in toxicology and cardiology respectively.

Besides Dr Tan, the other expert accepted by the panel was Dr Chan Chee Khoon, an epidemiologist and former Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) lecturer.

In September last year, the group had failed in the Federal Court to challenge the preliminary environmental impact assessment (PEIA) report by RAGM, which was approved by DOE director-general.

In the same month, Pahang Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Adnan Yaakob issued a statement accusing opposition parties of politicising the issue.

“The opposition has learnt from their teacher Adolf Hitler, who believed that a lie told many times will become truth,” Adnan told the Pahang state assembly.

The Cabinet has insisted since 2009 that the gold mining plant poses no danger to the environment and the health of close to 3,000 residents in Bukit Koman.

Gold extraction using cyanide is currently banned in the Czech Republic, Hungary, and two states in the United States — Montana and Wisconsin.

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Source: The Malaysian Insider, By Zurairi AR (February 07, 2013)
http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/cyanide-exposure-from-gold-mining-real-say-bukit-koman-residents