Issues in public health: assuaging concern from contaminated land resulting from land use dynamics in Malaysia

The anthropogenic disturbance of pristine natural areas caused by land use and transformation from one use to another as a result of increased pressure from demographic changes and the economics of this shrinking resource can result in adverse health hazards for the community. This paper appraises the consequential impact of land use dynamics, its assessment and measures required to assuage this overlooked public health issue. The anthropogenic impact from land use in Malaysia from the industrial sector alone points toward the potential capacity to cause adverse health hazards. A deficiency in assessing this impact due to limited information has resulted in the inability to establish the extent of this problem. Several necessary measures to establish the extent of the problem involving ways to characterise contaminated land and the evolution of a strategy to resolve it are discussed.