About 50 per cent of the bauxite-polluted areas in Kuantan, Pahang have been cleaned, to date.

Malaysian Fire and Rescue Department director-general Datuk Wan Mohd Noor Ibrahim said the department expected the cleanup would be completed fully by next month.

"The cleaning up must be done carefully to avoid tarnishing the surrounding areas.

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"Nevertheless, monitoring from time to time will be made in the polluted areas to ensure the incident is not repeated in future," he told Bernama here, Wednesday.