Ramdzani Abdullah

Air quality in Malaysia: impacts, management issues and future challenges.

Observations have been made on the long‐term trends of major air pollutants in Malaysia including nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, the ozone and total suspended particulate matter (particularly PM10), and sulfur dioxide, emitted from industrial and urban areas from early 1970s until late 1998.

Multivariate statistical techniques for the assessment of seasonal variations in surface water quality of pasture ecosystems

This study investigates the applicability of multivariate statistical techniques including cluster analysis (CA), discriminant analysis (DA), and factor analysis (FA) for the assessment of seasonal variations in the surface water quality of tropical pastures. The study was carried out in the TPU catchment, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The dataset consisted of 1-year monitoring of 14 parameters at six sampling sites. The CA yielded two groups of similarity between the sampling sites, i.e., less polluted (LP) and moderately polluted (MP) at temporal scale. Fecal coliform (FC), NO3, DO, and pH were significantly related to the stream grouping in the dry season, whereas NH3, BOD, Escherichia coli, and FC were significantly related to the stream grouping in the rainy season. The best predictors for distinguishing clusters in temporal scale were FC, NH3, and E. coli, respectively. FC, E. coli, and BOD with strong positive loadings were introduced as the first varifactors in the dry season which indicates the biological source of variability. EC with a strong positive loading and DO with a strong negative loading were introduced as the first varifactors in the rainy season, which represents the physiochemical source of variability. Multivariate statistical techniques were effective analytical techniques for classification and processing of large datasets of water quality and the identification of major sources of water pollution in tropical pastures.

Selection criteria using the Delphi method for siting an integrated hazardous waste disposal facility in Malaysia

Choosing the site for an integrated hazardous waste disposal facility requires an extensive evaluation process to identify the best available disposal location. This location must comply with the requirements of governmental regulations while minimising the economic, environmental, health and social costs. In addition, the local public must be convinced that the hazardous waste disposal facility is required and that all reasonable steps will be taken to make it compatible with the environment. In addition, the location of the facility should be able to reasonably resolve larger issues. This study identifies environmental, economic and social criteria to be considered for the site selection of an integrated hazardous waste disposal facility. The Delphi method was employed in this study to gather information on the site selection criteria for siting a fully integrated hazardous waste disposal facility in Malaysia. The use of an online Delphi survey is useful and effective when both time and costs are limitations in a study, due to geographically dispersed experts. A two-round Delphi survey was employed in this study. The overall findings indicate that environmental criteria should be given priority when locating the facility, followed by the social and economic criteria.

Equivalent noise level response to number of vehicles: a comparison between a high traffic flow and low traffic flow highway in Klang Valley, Malaysia

*Correspondence: Herni Halim, Department of Environmental Management, Faculty of Environmental Studies, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 Serdang, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia e-mail: hernihalim@yahoo.com HIGHLIGHTS • Highway traffic noise is a serious problem in Malaysia • Heavy traffic flow highway recorded higher noise level compared to low traffic flow • Noise level stabilized at certain number of vehicles on the road i.e above 500 vehicles.

GIS-Based Site Selection for Hazardous Waste Disposal Facilities in Penang and Kedah

The GIS with an integration of multicriteria decision analysis (MCDA) has been widely applied in many areas to assist in siting facilities. The application of both has been demonstrated to produce sound decisions. This study is focused on site selection process to determine the location for hazardous waste disposal facility, with a case study on Penang and Kedah. A model was developed that incorporated criteria to be used for exclusionary areas and factor map. AHP method was used to assign weight for evaluation criteria which will be used as input in GIS analysis. There are ten constraint criteria: surface water (SW), environmentally sensitive lands (ESL), environmentally protected areas (EPA), areas with high groundwater pollution risk (HGPR), prohibitive geological conditions (PGC), topography (TOPO), land uses (LU), road networks and transportation (RNT), infrastructures and utilities (IU), and population and public places (PPP). The four factor maps were population and public places (PPP), topography (TOPO), road network and transportation (RNT), and geology (GEO). The model of site selection involved three phases: (1) generation of final constraint map, (2) generation of final factor map, and lastly (3) generation of final suitability map. The final suitability map has been classified into five discrete categories: (0) not suitable, (1) least suitable, (2) suitable, (3) moderately suitable, and (4) highly suitable. The model has generated about 95 % of study area to be excluded as potential sites. The remaining 5 % of land that was suitable for siting was further evaluated to identify their location. Those sites were in Putat, Padang Perahu, Jeram, Padang Lalang, Tebengau, Kangkong, Dulang, Singkir, Sok, Baling, Padang Meha, Bagan Sena, Sedim, Mahang, Sungai Batu, Kuala Selama, Karangan and Terap. The integration of GIS and MCDA has absolutely improved the site selection process, thus enhance decision making.

Methodology for modeling of city sustainable development based on fuzzy logic: a practical case

Information on sustainability can be used for future development planning. This study presents an approach for assessing urban sustainability. Delphi and fuzzy logic methods and the Kruskal–Wallis test were the discovery and verification techniques used. The city system comprised social, economic, and environmental subsystems. The seven orientors of existence, effectiveness, freedom of action, security, adaptability, coexistence, and psychological need were measured using different indicators. The final sustainability output was obtained by aggregation of the multiple orientors and subsystems sustainability values into a unified measure. A fuzzy sustainability index was developed to compare the importance of the sustainability orientors and subsystems. The model was applied to Mahshahr, an industrialized coastal city in Iran. The model output for the subsystems showed significant differences between the economic and environmental subsystems and the social subsystem. The final sustainability output showed that the effectiveness orientor gave the highest sustainability value. The model is dynamic and can be modified for different purposes by changing the indicators. With this model, policy-makers can evaluate existing city sustainability and predict future sustainability by varying the indicators. This can be done on local, regional, and global scales for security and adaptation strategies, mitigation plans, and sustainable development management.

Assessment of road traffic noise indices in urban residential areas of Klang Valley, Malaysia

Traffic noise has been recognized as a serious threat to the quality of life in most industrialised nations. Klang valley is rapidly emerging as industrialized and urbanized city and has started facing severe noise pollution problems. Urban noise quality assessment is studied in three residential areas; Desa Tun Razak, Kinrara Court and Taman Sentul Utama. Noise pollution indices of L10, L50, L90, Lmax and Lmin as well as equivalent continuous noise level (Leq) were measured for all dwellings. Noise indices results illustrate that Desa Tun Razak recorded the highest values of noise levels among three studied sites. Results also indicate that the highest Leq of 75.7 dB(A) was observed in Desa Tun Razak followed by 74.3 dB(A) in Kinrara Court, and 72.1 dB(A) in Taman Sentul Utama. The noise assessment study clearly reveals the alarming condition of noise pollution in residential areas of Klang Valley as the noise level measured exceeded permissible limit by WHO and Malaysia Guidelines.