Industrial Effluent Characteristics Study (IECS)

Under Regulation 21 of Environmental Quality (Industrial Effluent) Regulations 2009, no person shall discharge or cause or permit the discharge of any industrial effluent or mixed effluent containing any of the following substances onto or into any soil, or into any inland waters or Malaysian waters: –

1. Any inflammable solvent;
2. Any tar or other liquids immiscible with water;
3. Sawdust or wood waste; or
4. Sludges.

The employer is therefore required to carry out IECS study and any effluent discharged onto or into any soil, or into any inland waters or Malaysian waters shall be analyzed with the twenty-first (21st) edition of the methods specified in Fourth Schedule. The scope of work required to be carried out in performing IECS study is as follows:-

1. To guide the industry in conducting IECS vital for determination of effluent characteristics and compliance of EQA (IE), 2009.
2. To conduct composite samplings at discharge point every hourly for maximum duration of 8 hours per day. Three days will be required for such sampling.
3. To perform in-situ flow rate measurement to estimate the volumetric of effluent discharged.
4. To perform analyses on the composite effluent samples in accordance with the 21st Edition “Standard Methods of the Examination of Water and Wastewater” as specified in the Fourth Schedule, at accredited laboratories.
5. To compare the analysis results with limits stipulated in the Fifth, Seventh and/or Eighth Schedule of Environmental Quality (Industrial Effluent) Regulations 2009.
6. To recommend the best means of industrial effluent treatment method for parameters which are not in compliance with the stipulated requirements.
7. To produce IECS report to client and Department of Environment.