News - heavy metal contamination

Reason to start farming your own fish and vegetables...

Malay Mail - Monday, 12 Aug 2019 09:39 AM MYT

Nearly 50,000 fish found dead in Teluk Bahang due to suspected heavy metal contamination

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 12 — In another case of water pollution, an estimated 50,000 fish were found dead in Teluk Bahang yesterday.

The cause of death is said to be heavy metal content that deoxygenated the water and breeders are estimating their losses to be RM800,000.

This is the second such case in Teluk Bahang since May when thousands of grouper fish were also found dead in their cages.

State environment committee chairman Phee Boon Poh confirmed the presence of heavy metals but said it was not excessive, according to The Star.

“No, not nickel. But heavy metal but within the permissible level. The death is due to a lack of oxygen,” he said.

Fish breeder Ooi Hye Hin, who was affected in May as well as yesterday, told The Star he saw his fish jumping out of the water at 1am yesterday and knew something was wrong.

In the morning, he found all his fish dead.

“It happened in May. Now, this is worse because all 50,000 plus of my fish are dead and none could be salvaged. They are worth about RM800, 000,” Ooi told The Star.

“I cannot resume this business anymore,” said Ooi, adding that he had been in the fish breeding business for close to 20 years.

Centre for Marine and Coastal Studies (Cemacs) director Prof Datuk Dr Aileen Tan said yesterday there were heavy metals detected during the May incident but not at levels high enough to kill the fish.

“We have detected the shift of phytoplankton diversity and also a high concentration.

“Sign of eutrophication (excessive nutrients) in the shallow bay which may cause the depletion of dissolved oxygen — excessive nutrients in the water (phosphate and ammonia).

“In our monitoring since then, the nutrient levels are still high.

“This time, it might be slightly different because of the strong current and waves from Typhoon Lekima might have stirred some toxins from the seabed,” she said.

Tan also did not rule out the deteriorating water quality in Teluk Bahang as the reason for the fish dying.

“Combined factors of toxins and low dissolved oxygen may have caused a stressed environment to the fish around the area,” Tan continued.

Cemacs science officer Sim Yee Kwang, who was part of the team of officers from Cemacs at Ooi’s site, said the water temperature, salt and pH levels were normal, but oxygen levels in the water was lower than normal.

“We will be bringing the fish and water samples back to USM for analysis,” he added.

Back in May, Cemacs had reported that the level of nickel was 1,038 per cent more than it should be in the seas near the Penang National Park and 982 per cent higher at the fish farms in Teluk Bahang.

The sea off Teluk Bahang is said to be contaminated by heavy metals while in Nibong Tebal, the water at the Sungai Tengah river mouth is black, a problem fishermen there claim has been plaguing them for about 10 years.

* A previous version of this story contained an error which has since been corrected.

News - pesticide poisoning

Reason to start farming your own fish and vegetables...

Bernama - July 18, 2019 11:00 PM

24 school children down with pesticide poisoning

PORT DICKSON: Two dozen pupils of Sekolah Kebangsaan Linggi were treated for pesticide poisoning today after showing signs of dizziness, nausea and vomiting.

Thirteen of 24 affected students were taken to hospital for treatment.

Nur Ezzadina Mohd Fadzi, 12, said she inhaled the poison while sitting for a mathematics exam in the pre-tests of the Primary School Assessment (UPSR).

“Before the test, the odour permeated the air, but while answering the questions, the pungent smell was more pervasive. The whole examination hall had an overpowering stench,” she told Bernama here today.

Nur Ezzadina said she suffered from shortness of breath and vomiting. “I’m feeling drowsy and nauseous still,” she said.

Nur Sabrina Najwa Zakaria, 12, said that besides dizziness, nausea and vomiting, she also experienced blurred vision. “After inhaling the toxic fumes, all my classmates suffered from dizziness and shortness of breath,” she said.

R Deshwindran, 9, who had the same symptoms, said he was doing revision work on Moral Education in a hut near the school field at about 12.30pm. “I began to experience shortness of breath, vomiting and dizziness and was taken to PD Hospital,” he said.

Fire and rescue personnel from Telok Kemang were sent to the school along with the hazardous materials (Hazmat) unit from Seremban 2.

State Health, Environment, Cooperative and Consumer Affairs Committee chairman S Veerapan, said the incident involved 24 students. Thirteen were referred to PDH and all were reported to be in stable condition.

The case is believed to be due to pesticides being used at a chilli farm near the school.

School closed tomorrow, weekend activities cancelled

The school will be closed for a day tomorrow following the pesticide poisoning, state executive councillor Dr Mohamad Rafie Ab Malek said.

“All activities on the weekend will be stopped for the same purpose. The school session will reopen on Monday if it is viable to do so. However, we will monitor the situation.”

The area around the school is to be cleaned.

“If the situation does not improve and is still hazardous, the holiday will probably be extended but if it’s okay we will run the school session as usual,” he said.

The 12 pupils in hospital are reported to be in stable condition.

Ensure safety of food for Malaysians too

Source here.

Ensure safety of food for Malaysians too

Wednesday, 10 Jul 2019

TIME and again, we hear of Malaysian produce being rejected by other countries, the latest being bottled mineral water that were recalled by the Singaporean authorities. The particular bottled mineral water were found to contain Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a common bacterium found in faeces, soil, water and sewage.
It is strange that such an incident was not discovered by our local authorities even though it is estimated that Malaysians consume more than 100 million bottles a year. Given the situation, many Malaysian consumers may have consumed the contaminated water.

The main legislations regulating food safety in the country are the Food Act 1983, Food Regulations 1985 and Food Hygiene Regulations 2009. They aim to protect the public against food-related hazards and frauds, promote safe preparation, handling and distribution, and the sale of healthy and high quality food.
As food safety has to be maintained from production to consumption, many ministries and agencies are involved in the process. Among them are the Health and Agriculture and Agro-based Industry ministries, local authorities and Customs (for import and export of food).

In spite of the existence of the law and enforcement body entrusted to ensure that Malaysians get safe and wholesome food, we rarely hear of our local produce being recalled.
However, many recalls of Malaysian foods in foreign countries, besides the rejection of mineral water, have been reported:
> In 2018, iceberg lettuce were recalled by the Singaporean authorities after high levels of pesticide was detected in the vegetable imported from a Malaysian farm;
> In 2017, China rejected fruits from Cameron Highlands due to the presence of living modified organism (LMO);
> In 2016, Malaysian prawns, mostly from Penang aquaculture farms, were rejected by the United States government due to the presence of banned antibiotics (nitrofuran and chloramphenicol); and
> In 2015, some 300 batches of vegetables – mostly leafy greens – and fruits were stopped from being sold in Singapore after pesticide residues found on samples exceeded levels allowed by the authorities.
It is said that 3% to 5% of vegetables and fruits from Malaysia exceeded pesticide limits set by the Singaporean authorities.
Due to the bad track record of our agricultural produce, since May 1, exporters of Malaysian agricultural produce to Singapore need to register with our Health Ministry to have the MyFood Tag identification, which is a mechanism to strengthen food safety control and traceability in the supply chain.
While it is a voluntary certification in Malaysia, produce without the MyFood Tag will not be allowed to enter Singapore.
The certification process audits the production, storage, transport, processing and distribution of food items. The MyFood Tag system should be made mandatory to improve food safety for Malaysians.
According to deputy Health Minister Lee Boon Chye, the requirement for the MyFood Tag for produce to be exported to Singapore was a request from the Singapore authorities and would only apply to fresh vegetables and fruits at the moment.
The government should conduct safety checks consistently, regardless of whether the vegetables are meant for export or local consumption.
Contaminated produce must be removed from the market and farmers who sell them must be punished.
MOHIDEEN ABDUL KADER
Acting president
Consumers Association of Penang

Osmocote Plus for aquarium plants

The aquarium plants dont have a healthy looking green. Maybe it's the lighting. Or the fertilisers (the lack of). Fish stock is low too, which does not help plants grow. You can check out this video of my female fighting fish and see the dull green plants.

Read somewhere to dose the tank with Osmocote Plus. Found some in Ace Hardware which has a good selection of US stuff. Not cheap though.

At least I know what is in it, unlike some of the local ferts which you just have no idea what's in them

Cameron Highlands growers given six months to reduce pesticide use before stricter enforcement

source

Saturday, 22 Jun 2019 12:42 PM MYT

CAMERON HIGHLANDS (Bernama): Cameron Highlands vegetable growers have been given six months to reduce their use of insecticides before stricter enforcement takes place, says Deputy Agriculture and Agro-based Minister Sim Tze Tzin.

He said the heavy use of pesticides isn’t just harmful to growers and consumers, but damages the environment and causes produce to be unsuitable for export.

In helping farmers make the switch to biological control agents, Sim said: "MARDI (the Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute) and the Agriculture Department have produced the Diadegma and Cotesia parasitoids, as well as the Tiger Fly, on a large scale in the lab for use by farmers to control Plutella moth and leaf miner infestations.”

Today, at a biological control agent launch press conference attended by Mardi director-general Datuk Dr Mohamad Roff Mohd Nor, and Agriculture Department director-general Datuk Jamal Harizan Yang Razali, Sim said economic analysis showed the technique could bring in cost savings of up to RM2,000 a season.

He said the government will work with NGOs, local authorities and farmers’ associations to improve understanding of biocontrol techniques versus pesticides before the former - which has been proven to work in most agricultural regions - is introduced across the country.

Since farming was introduced to the Pahang district in the 1930s, Cameron Highlands has become the country’s main producer of vegetables and flowers, aside from being a world-famous tourist destination.

The state is the biggest producer of vegetables, chiefly cabbage, with an output of 68,500 metric tonnes grown over 2,770ha, and with much of it coming from Cameron Highlands. - Bernama

Community aquarium revival

In the process of reviving the indoor community aquarium. This (the water) is currently the main source of plant food. The only other source is a smaller tank used for Betta fry.

Still lots of snails. Added a few inhabitants like a couple of platies and rasboras (not in the picture). Water changes about 5% twice a week. Stopped adding salt coz I read it was bad.

12June2019 update. The tank is well on the road to recovery.

The long time residents are visible in this shot... the solitary pleco and serpae tetra. All others are new additions. I am catching a couple of snails and crushing their shells so that they become food for the fish. That should make this a self sustaining tank.

Potato

Just curious what will happen when the potato starts sprouting shoots.

29June2019 update:
We transferred it to a bigger pot.

The leaves grew quite a bit. I think if we ever get lots of surplus soil I might try growing it properly in a big sack.