The International Trade and Industry Ministry expects the Atomic Energy Licensing Board (AELB) to make the disposal wastes from the Lynas rare earths refinery outside the country a condition before issuing it with a temporary operating licence (TOL).

NONE "The parliamentary select committee (PSC) has also recommended that wastes generated by the plant should be disposed of at a location outside the country," the minister, Mustapa Mohamed, said in a statement today.

"We expect AELB will take heed of this recommendation and make it a condition for the granting of the TOL."

According to the PSC report, if Lynas is not able to present its residue recycling research report or determine the plan and location of a permanent disposal facility within 10 months, it will be required to ship the wastes produced during the TOL period out of the country.

However, PSC chief Mohamed Khaled Nordin conceded yesterday that there is no guarantee that the Australian government would take back the residues produced by Lynas.

Mustapa's statement also endorsed the findings of PSC that the Lynas Advanced Materials Plant (Lamp) is safe and acceptable.

He said the government has subjected the Lamp application to an unprecedented series of evaluations by experts to determine whether it is a threat to public safety and health.

The steps taken have included:

  • Making the granting of a manufacturing licence subject to approval by various regulatory bodies, including the AELB and the Department of the Environment (DOE);
  • Evaluations by both the AELB and DOE to determine the impact of the project on public health and the environment;
  • Evaluation by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to determine if the project posed an unacceptable risk to public health and safety in June 2011. The IAEA also took into account views submitted by members of the public and public interest groups. The IAEA review panel consisted of nine independent experts, four from the IAEA and the rest from Canada, India, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and South Africa; and
  • Evaluation by the PSC. The PSC took three months to study the issue and submitted its findings to Parliament yesterday. After a debate, the PSC report was passed by Parliament.
Mustapa stressed that the conclusions of all these evaluation exercises have been consistent:

  • The level of radioactivity at the Lamp site will be way below acceptable limits. While the globally acceptable level of exposure to radioactivity is 1 mSv/year, the experts have concluded that the potential radiation exposure level to an employee at the Lamp plant will be only 0.2 mSv/year; and
  • The experts also concluded that the regulatory authorities have put in place adequate measures to continuously monitor conditions at the plant, including all activities ranging from the arrival of raw materials at the port, transport to the site, processing at the site and the disposal of wastes.
NONE To back his argument, Mustapa quoted Hulu Langat MP Che Rosli Che Mat ( left ), an expert on radioactivity who told the Parliament yesterday that the project is not hazardous and that radiation levels from rare earth materials located at the site will be well below permissible levels.

Mustapa also said the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (Mida) only issued the manufacturing licence to Lynas in January 2008 after receiving feedback from DOE and AELB.

"The licence was issued subject to compliance with the provisions of the Atomic Energy Licensing Act 1984 and Environment Quality Act 2074.

"It is important to stress that Lynas is not a nuclear plant but a chemical processing factory, and that the rare earth ore to be used at the site is not categorised as radioactive mineral.

"It is scientifically classified as a NORM (naturally-occurring radioactive material) and has a level of radiation that is well below hazardous levels," he said.

Mustapa reiterated that Lynas would only be allowed to carry on with the implementation of its project if all conditions imposed by regulatory agencies have been complied with.

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