Malaysians Warned To Eat Less Shellfish Due To Risk Of Heavy Metal Poisoning
Scientists recently discovered heavy metal pollution in the waters off Johor, Port Klang, and Penang.
By Samantha Khor — 09 Apr 2019, 04:01 PM
Malaysian scientists are warning seafood lovers living on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia to eat less shellfish after discovering heavy metal pollution along the Straits of Malacca
Bernama reported that a team of 25 scientists and researchers collected samples from more than 45 stations along two shipping routes - the Straits of Malacca and the South China Sea - during a scientific voyage last month.
The findings revealed that the waters off Johor, Port Klang, and Penang are at higher risk of heavy metal contamination.
The team found high concentrations of heavy metals during a scientific voyage along the Straits last month.
The metals include arsenic, cadmium, lead, and mercury.
According to Ong Meng Chuan, associate professor of marine biology at Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT), the heavy metal pollution "indirectly leads to the contamination of a food source".
"It is in the nature of shellfish to stay put and not migrate in search of food," Ong said, as quoted by Bernama.
"Obviously, if the water is contaminated with heavy metals, it will be passed up the food chain."
Ong highlighted that many people are not aware of the long-term health consequences of eating contaminated food from the sea
"Heavy metal bioaccumulation takes a long time to be detected. The build-up from eating arsenic- or mercury-contaminated food can lead to various disorders," he added.
Expressing concerns over heavy metal pollution in the west coast's waters, Ong said that the government and relevant authorities should tackle the problem seriously by ensuring strict enforcement of the law
"Perhaps a heavier penalty or tougher sentence is needed... because we don’t want another Sungai Kim Kim incident, which affected the health of over 2,000 people," he added.