Local air quality management in Klang Valley: issues and challenges

• Main Author: Foo, Siah Eer
• Format: Academic Exercise
• Language: English
• Published: 2015
• Subjects: TD Environmental technology. Sanitary engineering
• Online Access: https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/17492/1/Local%20air%20quality%20management%20in%20Klang%20Valley.pdf; https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/17492/

Air pollution has become a prominent environmental issue, especially in the days where most countries are striving towards rapid development and urbanization. The impacts of air pollution not only affect the environment, but also humans as well. In Malaysia, especially the Klang Valley has been affected by the annual haze episodes that had been occurring since the 1990s. The study hence set to identify the air quality status in Klang Valley by studying the Air Pollution Index (API) levels in four selected air quality monitoring stations (Port Klang, Shah Alam, Petaling Jaya, and Cheras) for the recent 10 years (year 2003 to 2013) and also the current management practices. The study found out that the air quality status in Klang Valley to be fluctuating in the first seven years but slowly increasing in the past three years. Although the air quality status is achieving slight improvement, it is still important to have a sound environmental management system that is able to curb this issue. The system should be incorporated into the authorities' that is the nearest to the community, being the local authorities. The study found out through a series of interview sessions with local authorities' representatives in Klang Valley that their current involvement is not specific enough to curb the local air quality issues. However, an important finding through the interview session was the National Haze Action Plan (NHAP) 2014 that is a comprehensive action plan capable in aiding the local air quality management system. Hence, a comprehensive framework is proposed with the fundamentals of NHAP in order to help the local air quality management to maintain and also improve the air quality in Klang Valley.