KOTA KINABALU, June 5 (Bernama) -- The Sabah Environmental ProtectionAssociation (Sepa) has called on the palm oil industry in Sabah to adhereto proper maintenance of palm oil effluents to prevent environmentalpollution.

Sepa president Datin Susanna Jayasuria said Saturday that there wasalready a technology to treat palm oil effluents to the most stringentrequirement by the Department of Environment (DOE).

"Hence there is no reason why some of the palm oil industry players arenot complying with the environmental requirements," she said in astatement.

She was responding to a media report on Wednesday quoting the World WideFund for Nature (WWF) as stating that 20 palm oil mills in Kinabatanganfloodplains produce an estimated 1.08 million tonnes of effluents annuallyand that many do not meet the standards set by the DOE.

Jayasuria called on the government and the industry concerned "to do theright thing now before it is too late".

"Proper maintenance of palm oil effluents should be one of the mainconditions for palm oil plantations," she said and called for immediatesteps to be taken to rectify the situation in Kinabatangan.

-- BERNAMA --