SMSL, Geenpeace pressure Lynas for permanent disposal facility
KUALA LUMPUR: Save Malaysia Stop Lynas (SMSL) and Greenpeace Malaysia yesterday maintained that Lynas Corporation must identify a permanent disposal facility (PDF) for wastes produced at its Kuantan refinery, despite the rare earth refiner announcing recycling measures.
Australian miner Lynas Corporation said it has been granted an extension to a temporary permit to store residue at its Malaysian site.
According to SMSL, under the recommendation of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Lynas Corporation applied and acquired the approval of the Atomic Energy Licensing Board to remove the Flue Gas Desulfurization (FGD) and Neutralization Underflow (NUF) residues from its control list in 2013. This means the residues can be used for municipal landfills and removed from their storage cells.
In its letter to the Australian Stock Exchange, Lynas Corporation asked the Malaysian government for permission to turn the existing site of temporary storage of NUF and FGD into ‘prescribed premises for management and disposal of the solid wastes’.
“Five years have passed. Why has Lynas not done anything to stop the problem? Instead why are their wastes kept at the back of the plant and allowed to be exposed to the environment?”, questioned Tan Bun Tet, spokesperson for Save Malaysia Stop Lynas in a statement yesterday.
“Minister Yeo Bee Yin has categorically ordered Rozli Zul, Director of Department of Environment Pahang, to inform Lynas that when the storage permit expires at the end of October, there will be no extension. Why is Lynas now reneging on the agreement?” Tan remarked.
Tan is also concerned that if the Lynas Corporation permit gets extended, what would happen to all the written pledges of Lynas and the government in regards to the final management and disposal of Lynas’ solid wastes and recycled products.
Meanwhile, Greenpeace Malaysia also reiterated its opposition, noting that Lynas Corporation has yet to come up with a convincingly safe and acceptable solution for its radioactive waste. In August 2014, Greenpeace Malaysia released a report A Radioactive Ruse which revealed how Lynas has not been operating according to best environmental practices and standards.
Heng Kiah Chun, Greenpeace Malaysia public engagement campaigner, said: “We hope that new Malaysian Government will exercise greater caution and not allow itself to be deceived into believing that Lynas Corporation can offer a safe and beneficial recycling options for its radioactive waste.
“If Lynas were a truly responsible multinational company, it should locally adopt the same strict set of environmental standards and safeguards that would be expected of them back in their country of origin. The public was also made to believe that no radioactive waste from the plant would be disposed of in Malaysia.
“This has now been exposed as a ruse, following reports that Lynas is now planning to “recycle” certain fractions of its radioactive waste stream into construction materials and other commercial product applications. This is a dangerous proposition with the potential of spreading radioactive exposure rather than containing it.”