We’ve had our fair share of dealing with terrible smells, aka the Haze. In other countries, snowstorms close schools while here, it’s the 300+ PSI level which every school-going kid celebrates.
But for residents in Kallang, the problem is way, way worse. Imagine the terrible smells that force you to buy air purifiers and turn on air conditioning 24/7. In addition, you have incessant noise which brings headaches.
Big yikes.
According to TODAYOnline, the former Kallang Gasworks site is being remade into a residential precinct, and thus work on the land is being carried out.
Kallang Gasworks occupied a site since 1862 and cease its operations in 1998. It was later demolished in 2003.
As such, remediation works have to do be done to remove the chemicals in the soil.
The work began in February 2020 and is expected to be complete by the end of 2022.
Residential Areas Affected
TODAYOnline reported that the affected areas are Citylights Condominium, Kallang Riverside Condominium, Southbank Condominium, HDB Blocks 466 to 468 on Crawford Lane, and HDB Blocks 813 to 815 on Jellicoe Road.
These three condominiums and HDB blocks are home to 3,550 rather (and understandably) tired residents.
Unfortunately, the remediation system works round the clock. Residents will only literally get a breath of fresh air when the wind does not blow the fumes in their direction.
Residents are affected by the loud noise at all times of the day and have reported symptoms such as having a runny nose, cough, nausea and even breathing difficulties.
One resident, who had experienced allergy-like symptoms when construction began, went to the doctor for treatment. The doctor noted that the cause was likely to be air pollution.
Multiple residents have experienced the same issues and took to creating a Facebook group, “Smelly Air from old Kallang Gasworks site”, to urge authorities to take the matter seriously.
Authorities Respond to Residents’ Concerns
A Singapore Land Authority (SLA) spokesperson has said that emissions and emissions and intermittent odours are to be expected during the course of the soil remediation works, as with any construction site.
They also report that the air released has been treated and will not pose any adverse health risk to the people living or working in the area. They note that there is no evidence to suggest that the emission causes health issues.
Thankfully, the authorities are trying to implement solutions that will mitigate the effects of the noise and smells.
A new treatment system has been put in place to remove the odour-causing compounds and new generators have been installed in addition to soundproof padding to reduce the noise.
These measures were put in place between 19 June 2020 and 13 December 2020.
SLA has pointed out that the number of complaints has since fallen from 139 last year to 25 this year.
The National Environment Agency (NEA) has also assessed the noise levels and emission readings from the remediation site and reported that they were within its regulatory limits.
Unfortunately, remediation works cannot be conducted off-site as more odours would be produced from the process.
Ms Thong Wai Lin, assistant chief executive for land operations at SLA brought up that the treatment process would still run at all hours to prevent cross-contamination between excavated and non-excavated areas.
Despite their efforts, some residents were still disappointed with the authorities. SLA held a two-hour closed-door meeting with eight residents, however, residents said that they were “not prepared to share what further steps they will take to improve the situation.”
They also added that the solutions have not gone far enough and that many were still suffering from the effects of the constant noise and pollution.
Featured Image: Facebook (Smelly Air from old Kallang Gasworks site)
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