MP SPEAKS From June 2011, processing radioactive materials and generating radioactive wastes, such as that carried out by the Lynas Advanced Materials Plant (Lamp) in Gebeng, Kuantan, have been added to the list of prescribed activities requiring a Detailed Environmental Impact Assessment (DEIA).

NONEBut from the way things are going, Lamp, the biggest rare earth refinery outside China, which will soon be controlling 30 percent of the world's rare earth market, looks set to start operations, with the Malaysian authorities letting it get away without having to carry out a DEIA.

There will be no DEIA and therefore the people will be exposed to the hazards of Lamp as the Gebeng plant starts operating soon, all the result of an incompetent government.

Lynas gets away with not having to conduct a DEIA because the Department of Environment (DOE) is not the regulator for Lamp.

The Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (Mosti) and the Atomic Energy Licensing Board (AELB) as the regulator and the authority issuing the temporary operating licence (TOL) have, on the other hand, argued that enforcing a DEIA on Lamp is not under their jurisdiction.

AELB 'not bound' by environmental law

AELB stated this clearly in a letter, dated Feb 3, 2012, in reply to queries on the DEIA for Lamp that was sent to AELB on Jan 27 by solicitors acting on behalf of the Kuantan residents.

AELB gives the impression in the reply that it is not bound by Section 34A of the Environmental Quality Act 1976, that it is only bound by the Atomic Energy Licensing Act 1984, which makes no mention of any DEIA.

If the AELB, as a regulatory body, had done its work diligently, it would have discovered that the Preliminary Environmental Impact Assessment (PEIA) carried out for the Lamp project is flawed and full of holes.

NONEBelow are some of the points that go to show that the PEIA is flawed:

1) Approval for the PEIA was granted by the Pahang DOE office on Feb 18, 2008 (as per the public announcement by Lynas on Feb 20, 2008).

2) The siting licence as well as the licence to construct the Lamp was approved by the AELB board of directors on Feb 19, 2008 (Lynas public announcement dated Feb 20, 2008).

3) The Kuantan Local Council approved the Development Order Application on Feb 19, 2008.

4) Lynas announced that preliminary earthworks for the development of infrastructure for Lamp would commence in mid-January 2008. This was stated in the PEIA - Section 1.7, and an approval letter from the Pahang DOE for these activities, dated Dec 4, 2007, was attached in the appendix of the PEIA.

5) Section 2.2 of the PEIA state a "Geotechnical Investigation", but no geotechnical report is attached to the PEIA.

6) The Soil Boring and Monitoring Well Diagrams displayed in the PEIA all point to the fact that poor quality peat soil is found just one metre beneath the surface of the site. On top of that, the diagrams show that the depth of the peat soil goes very deep into the ground.

7) The cross-section of the geological formation of the site (Exhibit 4.6 of the PEIA) is a clear indication of a 'copy-and-paste' job from another report. It does not refer to the exact location of the site for Lamp but is about another site quite a distance away, taken from a geological map of Pahang state.

8) Section 6.6.3.2 of the PEIA, under Soil and Groundwater Monitoring, operational phase - does not mention anything about monitoring the migration of radionuclides into the groundwater. The PEIA was not carried out in sufficient depth, nor befitting a PEIA for the largest rare earth refinery in the world outside China.

NONEConsidering that Lamp will generate more than 200,000 metric tonnes of radioactive wastes a year, and further considering that the plant will be the largest rare earth refinery in the world outside China and soon control 30 percent of the world's rare earth market, it is appalling that our authorities are dealing with the issue of DEIA in such a frivolous manner.

AELB should have a look at other plants around the Gebeng Industrial area that are already showing cracks on their cemented skirtings, where no piling work had been done. This indicates that there already is earth movement in that area of reclaimed swamp land.

The people of Kuantan are also greatly concerned about the New York Times report on cracks in the concrete tanks facility that was being built in the Lamp compound.

Whatever the AELB has to say in justification of its decision to issue the TOL to Lamp, we, the people of Kuantan, are very clear about the dangers we will be facing and why we are against Lamp.

 

FUZIAH SALLEH is the member of parliament for Kuantan.