Flaring operations at a chemical plant in Pasir Gudang, eastern Johor Bahru, produced a bright orange flare on Wednesday night, October 15, that was visible from parts of Singapore.
The National Environmental Agency (NEA) claimed in a Facebook post on Friday, October 17, that the flaring was caused by cleanup efforts after a power outage at one of Lotte Chemical Titan’s chemical facilities.
On Thursday, October 16, Lotte Chemical Titan posted on Facebook that the power outage started at 4:13 pm. Additionally, it stated that the recovery efforts started at roughly 6 pm and ended at approximately 9.30 pm.
According to the NEA, flaring is a typical safety precaution in petrochemical facilities, and the main byproducts of combustion are carbon dioxide and water vapor.
“Flaring is the controlled burning of excess hydrocarbon gases that cannot be recovered or recycled, during both planned and unplanned situations,” the agency explained.
The NEA further stated that it will keep an eye on the situation and that the air quality at its neighboring air monitoring stations, such as Punggol in northeastern Singapore and across the Johor Strait from Pasir Gudang, is within normal ranges.
Some Singaporean internet users posted pictures and videos of the flares on social media on October 15.
Users reported sightings from Punggol Northshore and even farther away, Choa Chu Kang, in posts on the Facebook group Cloudspotting & Skyspotting Singapore.
