NEA green-lights activities, fishing in waters near Tuas Second Link after chemical tank accident
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NEA said it has been monitoring the water quality along the Strait of Johor and near the incident site.
ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI
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SINGAPORE - People may resume primary contact water activities and recreational fishing in the waters around Tuas Second Link, including areas around Raffles Marina.
The National Environment Agency (NEA) issued this green light in a Facebook post on July 30, superseding a warning on July 24 which advised against such activities
This alert was issued after an accident earlier that day, on the Malaysian side of the Second Link bridge, involving two heavy tankers, which resulted in a chemical tank containing propylene glycol falling into the sea
Since then, NEA said it has been monitoring the water quality along the Strait of Johor and near the incident site.
“Over the past few days, the water quality remains in the normal range,” NEA said, adding that the concentration of propylene glycol in the water was also very low.
The Singapore Food Agency is also in close contact with local farms, it said.
To date, no local fish farms have been affected, and local fish remain safe to eat, NEA said.
National water agency PUB is also monitoring the seawater intake at Singapore’s desalination plants, which are currently not affected. Three of five such plants are located in Tuas, including the Tuas South Desalination Plant, the largest one here.
“We will continue to monitor the situation closely,” NEA said.
Propylene glycol is not hazardous and is a common ingredient in everyday items such as food preservatives, cough syrup and moisturisers, NEA said in an earlier post.
It is generally safe for humans and the environment in small amounts, and breaks down naturally in water, it added.
