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Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Lynas' waste as harmless as table salt? Really?



A very well researched and written article by Mr Soo Jin Hou which was denied publication elsewhere....for what reason, I do not know.

In a highly publicized press conference on 3 April 2012, Lynas demonstrated that their WLP waste is lower in radioactivity than table salt [1] [2].  The implication of this experiment is very detrimental to the stop Lynas campaign.  One of the main rebuttal against the IAEA review is that its International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) model has underestimated the risk of internal emitters, which are radioactive particles that are ingested or inhaled.  If the common salt has higher radioactivity than Lynas' wastes, the entire argument on internal emitters will be void
.


Fortunately, Mr. Tan Sek Choong, feature writer from Merdekareview.com found out that Lynas has been misleading the public in their experiment [3].  He found out that the salt used is not the typical sodium chloride (NaCl) type used in Malaysian households, but a low-sodium substitute containing potassium chloride (KCl).  The brand of the substitute is Diet Rite Lite Salt and it is imported from Australia (see picture).  High sodium intake can lead to  hypertension, and the substitute is thought to be a healthier alternative, although KCl is toxic when consumed in excess [4].


The radioactive isotope potassium-40 (K-40) constitutes 0.012% of all potassium.  It  is the source of elevated radioactivity of the experimental salt.  By the omission of its real content, Lynas sought to create the false impression that typical Malaysians are already exposed to this source of radiation.

The table below compares the radioactivity of household salt, Diet Rite Lite Salt as well as the WLP waste:

Household Salt (NaCl)
Diet Rite Lite Salt (NaCl+KCl)
WLP Waste
Radioactive composition
Negligible
27.6% K [5] x 0.012% = 0.00331% K-40
0.1455% Th-232 (in 0.1655% ThO2),
0.0019% U-238 (in 0.00225% U3O8)
Decay rate per gram
Negligible
7.1x10-6 Ci/g [6] x 3.7x1010Bq/Ci x 3.31x10-5 = 8.7 Bq/g
6.1 Bq/g
Radiation dosage measured during press conference
1.1 µSv/hour
0.7 µSv/hour
In theory, Diet Rite Lite Salt has higher decay rate than the WLP waste.  The radiation dosage taken during the press conference also shows higher reading.  Since the former is edible, does it mean that the WLP waste is safe?

K-40 is generally regarded as relatively safe within the medical community, despite its radioactivity [7].  The reasons are:

a) K-40 is distributed mostly in cancer resistant muscle tissue, whereas thorium (Th-232) is deposited mostly in leukemia prone bone tissue,

b) K-40 is easily excreted and it has a biological half-life of 30 days, compared to 22 years for Th-232 lodged in the bone,

c) Alpha radiation from Th-232 is 20 times more damaging than beta and gamma radiation from K-40.

d) The lifetime cancer mortality risk for the inhalation of Th-232 is 200 times greater than inhalation of K-40, and nearly 2000 times greater than ingestion of K-40 [6].

As a result, dosage for dosage, the Diet Rite Lite Salt poses much smaller threat compared to the WLP waste. 

Interestingly, not only does the medical community agrees that K-40 is relatively harmless, the IAEA and AELB also share similar opinion.  The clearance level for K-40 is 10 Bq/g for IAEA [8] and 100 Bq/g [9] for AELB, whereas for Th-232 it is 1 Bq/g.  This may be construed to mean that K-40 is 10 times and 100 times more harmless than Th-232 according to IAEA and AELB respectively.

The experiment is conducted by Lynas' radiological safety officer Prof. Dr. Ismail Bahari, an academician from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia and a former board member of AELB.  With his qualification and position, it is impossible that he is ignorant of IAEA's and AELB's standards with regards to K-40.  As a matter of fact, according to both standards, the Diet Rite Lite Salt is regarded as non-radioactive as it is below the clearance levels of K-40, whereas the WLP waste is 6 times more radioactive than the clearance level of Th-232.  It is unethical of him to compare the WLP waste to the Diet Rite Lite Salt while withholding information on the vast differences in their respective safety thresholds.

It is appalling that Lynas, who claims to be a good corporate citizen, has finally resorted to deception to mislead the public on the safety of their wastes.  It is hypocritical of Lynas to gag stop Lynas campaigners with the threat of lawsuit while they themselves are allowed to spread such misinformation.
Soo Jin Hou
Stop Lynas Coalition
References:
[1] "Lynas Pamer Contoh Bahan", 3 April 2012, from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yf4ZFngQQhg.
[2] "Lynas to brief PSC on its operation", 3 April 2012, The Sun Daily, from: http://www.thesundaily.my/news/338841.
[3] "以淡盐当海盐测试辐射,莱纳斯鱼目混珠失诚信", 13 April 2012, Tan Sek Choong, Merdeka Review, from http://www.merdekareview.com/news_v2.php?n=23984.
[4] "Potassium Chloride", from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potassium_chloride.
[5] "Nutritional Facts - Diet Rite Lite Salt", from http://www.myfitnesspal.com/food/calories/diet-rite-lite-salt-6150172.
[6] "Radiological and Chemical Fact Sheets to Support Health Risk Analyses for Contaminated Areas", March 2007, Argonne National Laboratory Environmental Science Division.  From http://www.ead.anl.gov/pub/doc/ANL_ContaminantFactSheets_All_070418.pdf.
[7] "On thorium and Lynas - Chan Chee Khoon", 27 March 2012, Chan Chee Khoon, The Malaysian Insider, from http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/sideviews/article/on-thorium-and-lynas-chan-chee-khoon/.
[8] "Applications of the Concepts of Exclusion, Exemption and Clearance", Safety Guide No. RS-g-1.7, IAEA, from http://www-pub.iaea.org/MTCD/publications/PDF/Pub1202_web.pdf.
[9] "Atomic Energy Licensing (Exemption) (Low Activity Radioactive Material) Order 2002", Atomic Energy Licensing Act 1984, P.U. (A) 182, AELB, from http://www.aelb.gov.my/aelb/engv/document/legislation/pu182.pdf

2 comments:

  1. Lynas should be given the chance to explain more thoroughly regarding the Lynas plant and its operation.

    ReplyDelete
  2. A study on the Lynas plant should be conducted to ensure it is really harmless to the people's health and environment.

    ReplyDelete

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