Lynas plans to dilute radioactive waste produced at its Malaysian plant, declassify it from being labelled as ‘radioactive’ and dispose of it as commercial waste. Irresponsible and unethical behavior, yes, but it has received the green light from the authorities.
Initially in 2008, the Atomic Energy Licensing Board (AELB) was the only regulator for the Lynas Advanced Materials Plant (Lamp) in Gebeng, Kuantan. Then two ministries - science, technology and innovation (Mosti); and international trade and industry (Miti) - came together before the visit to Malaysia by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) last May.
The number of ministries has since been increased to four. It has finally dawned on the Najib Abdul Razak administration that the hazards regarding Lamp are multifaceted in nature, and that dealing with it will require multi-disciplinary intervention.
The involvement of various ministers and ministries does not add to efficiency in managing Lamp; rather, it adds more complication and contradictions, as is usually the case in Malaysia when we work across agencies. Clearly no lead agency is calling the shots in Lynas' case. The AELB may be the lead agency, but it is proving to be very incompetent in regulating Lynas.
Day after day the public continues to be fed with alarming and contradictory statements regarding the safety of Lamp’s future operations. The various ministers and the AELB can't even seem to agree on the contents or the radioactivity of the waste. They have even fallen into the trap set by Lynas to label its waste as 'residue' instead of 'hazardous and radioactive waste'.
First the health minister announced that Lynas must send the waste back to the country from which the rare earths are imported - Australia.
Initially in 2008, the Atomic Energy Licensing Board (AELB) was the only regulator for the Lynas Advanced Materials Plant (Lamp) in Gebeng, Kuantan. Then two ministries - science, technology and innovation (Mosti); and international trade and industry (Miti) - came together before the visit to Malaysia by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) last May.
The number of ministries has since been increased to four. It has finally dawned on the Najib Abdul Razak administration that the hazards regarding Lamp are multifaceted in nature, and that dealing with it will require multi-disciplinary intervention.The involvement of various ministers and ministries does not add to efficiency in managing Lamp; rather, it adds more complication and contradictions, as is usually the case in Malaysia when we work across agencies. Clearly no lead agency is calling the shots in Lynas' case. The AELB may be the lead agency, but it is proving to be very incompetent in regulating Lynas.
Day after day the public continues to be fed with alarming and contradictory statements regarding the safety of Lamp’s future operations. The various ministers and the AELB can't even seem to agree on the contents or the radioactivity of the waste. They have even fallen into the trap set by Lynas to label its waste as 'residue' instead of 'hazardous and radioactive waste'.
First the health minister announced that Lynas must send the waste back to the country from which the rare earths are imported - Australia.
The premier then overruled this and said the waste will have to be transported out of Gebeng. The Miti minister reportedly said the waste from Lamp is not radioactive in nature, thus it can be sent abroad with just a letter of undertaking.
The natural resources and environment minister has been silent so far. He has failed to answer why a Detailed Environmental Impact Assessment study was not conducted prior to issuance of the temporary occupation licence (TOL), when the law has made this compulsory for Lamp.
I would like to bring to your attention the following data presented by Lynas in its Radioactive Waste Management Plan (RWMP pg32) that was on display in January 2012
Characteristics and Radioactivity of the three waste streams:
Total activity of FGD=0.47 Bq/g
(FGD: Flue Gas Desulpharisation)
Total activity of NUF=0.52 Bq/g
(NUF: Nutralisation Underflow Fluid)
Total activity of WLP=62.3 Bq/g
(WLP: Water Leach Purification)
This is not taking into account the thousands of cubic metres of treated liquid waste to be discharged from Lamp daily, which may also have some radioactive materials in it. We do not know for sure how much, since Lynas does not have a pilot plant anywhere. The Gebeng plant will be the testing place with the issuance of the TOL.
We have been assured by the Mosti minister in Parliament that Malaysia follows international standards and that the cut-off point for a waste to be classified as radioactive waste is 1Bq/g. Clearly the WLP waste is classified as radioactive waste and has to be regulated by AELB under Act 304.
The FGD and NUF even though is not classified as radioactive waste, are classified as hazardous waste since they also contain radioactive elements. These two waste streams will be regulated by Department of Environment under the Environmental Quality Act.
Cheating the public
In the RWMP, Lynas presented a best case scenario and a worst case scenario for management of its hazardous and radioactive waste. The best case scenario is to recycle the waste and to commercialise the FGD and NUF waste into gypsum boards and fertiliser.
Basically if this is allowed to happen, Malaysia will be legitimising Lynas’ action in scattering its radioactive waste everywhere. At the same time, the authorities will allow the public to be exposed to hazardous and radioactive materials. Through the fertilisers, the radioactive materials will find their way into our food chain.
The thorium in the waste has a life of 14 billion years and is carcinogen in nature. In the process of decay, which will take a very very long time, radioactive gases will be released and the material will finally stabilise as lead.
The authorities in an endeavour to pacify the public and to cover up their mistakes in bringing Lynas to Malaysia, will actually be exposing the whole international community to the hazards in the waste.
All these while, Lynas has used the external radiation reading as a measurement of safety, knowing that it can easily get away with it. But external radiation alone does not explain the various exposure pathways to which the public will be subjected to when dealing with radioactive waste.
Lynas plans to commercialise WLP waste by first diluting it to below 1 Bq|g so that it can be declassified from being labelled as radioactive waste. Following this, the waste will be commercialised as base materials for road construction, as Lynas announced in January.
This is the best case scenario that is being presented and which seems to have been accepted by the authorities. Malaysia does not seem to appreciate that this activity is irresponsible and unethical behaviour that is tantamount to cheating the public.
The internationally accepted criteria for hazardous and radioactive waste disposal are based on the total amounts of contaminants of hazardous materials and not the concentrations of the contaminants alone.
Diluting the WLP will make it non-radioactive by classification, but the total amounts of radioactive materials will still remain the same, based on the Law of the Conservation of Mass.
Malaysia must study how Lynas' competitor Molycorps’ plans to manage its radioactive waste when operations begin next year.
Molycorps in their documents has announced that it will have zero liquid discharge and all solid waste will be buried underground in concrete bunkers lined with lead walls. Molycorps ore from Mt Pass in California has less thorium and uranium content than Lynas' Mt Weld ore.
Lynas has made a mockery of Malaysian laws and has fooled the administration. It has made the ministers look incompetent, when they are caught repeating what Lynas tells them without having a clear understanding of its misleading plans.
I continue to assert that Malaysia does not have the capacity or the competency to regulate the largest rare earth refinery outside China. Neither does Malaysia have the capacity to develop a set of best practices for a rare earth refinery without referring to the China Standards.
Lamp must not be allowed to operate anywhere in Malaysia.
The natural resources and environment minister has been silent so far. He has failed to answer why a Detailed Environmental Impact Assessment study was not conducted prior to issuance of the temporary occupation licence (TOL), when the law has made this compulsory for Lamp.
I would like to bring to your attention the following data presented by Lynas in its Radioactive Waste Management Plan (RWMP pg32) that was on display in January 2012
Characteristics and Radioactivity of the three waste streams:
Total activity of FGD=0.47 Bq/g
(FGD: Flue Gas Desulpharisation)
Total activity of NUF=0.52 Bq/g
(NUF: Nutralisation Underflow Fluid)
Total activity of WLP=62.3 Bq/g
(WLP: Water Leach Purification)
This is not taking into account the thousands of cubic metres of treated liquid waste to be discharged from Lamp daily, which may also have some radioactive materials in it. We do not know for sure how much, since Lynas does not have a pilot plant anywhere. The Gebeng plant will be the testing place with the issuance of the TOL.
We have been assured by the Mosti minister in Parliament that Malaysia follows international standards and that the cut-off point for a waste to be classified as radioactive waste is 1Bq/g. Clearly the WLP waste is classified as radioactive waste and has to be regulated by AELB under Act 304.
The FGD and NUF even though is not classified as radioactive waste, are classified as hazardous waste since they also contain radioactive elements. These two waste streams will be regulated by Department of Environment under the Environmental Quality Act.
Cheating the public
In the RWMP, Lynas presented a best case scenario and a worst case scenario for management of its hazardous and radioactive waste. The best case scenario is to recycle the waste and to commercialise the FGD and NUF waste into gypsum boards and fertiliser.
Basically if this is allowed to happen, Malaysia will be legitimising Lynas’ action in scattering its radioactive waste everywhere. At the same time, the authorities will allow the public to be exposed to hazardous and radioactive materials. Through the fertilisers, the radioactive materials will find their way into our food chain.
The thorium in the waste has a life of 14 billion years and is carcinogen in nature. In the process of decay, which will take a very very long time, radioactive gases will be released and the material will finally stabilise as lead.
The authorities in an endeavour to pacify the public and to cover up their mistakes in bringing Lynas to Malaysia, will actually be exposing the whole international community to the hazards in the waste.All these while, Lynas has used the external radiation reading as a measurement of safety, knowing that it can easily get away with it. But external radiation alone does not explain the various exposure pathways to which the public will be subjected to when dealing with radioactive waste.
Lynas plans to commercialise WLP waste by first diluting it to below 1 Bq|g so that it can be declassified from being labelled as radioactive waste. Following this, the waste will be commercialised as base materials for road construction, as Lynas announced in January.
This is the best case scenario that is being presented and which seems to have been accepted by the authorities. Malaysia does not seem to appreciate that this activity is irresponsible and unethical behaviour that is tantamount to cheating the public.
The internationally accepted criteria for hazardous and radioactive waste disposal are based on the total amounts of contaminants of hazardous materials and not the concentrations of the contaminants alone.
Diluting the WLP will make it non-radioactive by classification, but the total amounts of radioactive materials will still remain the same, based on the Law of the Conservation of Mass.
Malaysia must study how Lynas' competitor Molycorps’ plans to manage its radioactive waste when operations begin next year.
Molycorps in their documents has announced that it will have zero liquid discharge and all solid waste will be buried underground in concrete bunkers lined with lead walls. Molycorps ore from Mt Pass in California has less thorium and uranium content than Lynas' Mt Weld ore.
Lynas has made a mockery of Malaysian laws and has fooled the administration. It has made the ministers look incompetent, when they are caught repeating what Lynas tells them without having a clear understanding of its misleading plans.I continue to assert that Malaysia does not have the capacity or the competency to regulate the largest rare earth refinery outside China. Neither does Malaysia have the capacity to develop a set of best practices for a rare earth refinery without referring to the China Standards.
Lamp must not be allowed to operate anywhere in Malaysia.
FUZIAH SALLEH is PKR’s member of parliament for Kuantan.
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