‘Flawed conditions to pacify public’

Kuantan MP Fuziah Salleh says that AELB is setting flawed conditions in Lynas' Temporary Operating License (TOL) in order to appease the public.

UPDATED

PETALING JAYA: Kuantan MP Fuziah Salleh has accused the Atomic Energy Licensing Board (AELB) of inserting flawed conditions for the Lynas Advanced Material Plant’s (LAMP) disposal of radioactive waste in order to appease the public.

There are lingering concerns over how the waste will be managed and this has become a pressing matter as the controversial project in Gebeng has been granted a “conditional” Temporary Operating License (TOL) by AELB and the Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry (Mosti) in early February.

AELB listed five conditions, some of which concerns the disposal of radioactive waste, which Lynas must adhere to. This includes returning the waste back to its country of origin – Australia- if the need arises.

To the chagrin of its detractors, the Australian company, Lynas, has yet to put forth a clear plan for its radioactive waste in LAMP.

To make matters worse, the Australian government reiterated that it will not allow the “importation and storage of other countries’ radioactive waste”.

Fuziah today said that AELB is inserting conditions that are impossible to meet even at international standards, leaving Malaysia in a difficult position to deal with this waste.

She quoted the example of UN’s Basel Convention signed in 1989 and came into force in 1992. The convention concerns the movement of hazardous material and waste across national boundaries.

It does not cover radioactive waste but this list can be expanded if laws in either the exporting or importing country consider radioactive waste as hazardous.

Both Australia and Malaysia have ratified the Convention in 1992 and 1993 respectively.

“The Basel convention states that any radioactive material which you bring out of the country must be returned to the country of origin. But the Basel Convention does not cover radioactive waste.

“And now that the Australian government has repeated that they will not take back the radioactive waste. Even if that (sending back the waste) is the worse case scenario, we (Malaysia) are still stuck (because of Australia’s rejection and the Convention’s terms),” said Fuziah.

She added that AELB has refused to acknowledge this and is inserting conditions that cannot be met to pacify the public.

Previously, FMT reported that AELB director-general Raja Abdul Aziz Raja Adnan was unaware that Australia has refused the return of radioactive waste.

He assured that Lynas has numerous back-up plans in place and therefore did not foresee any problems. He also said that AELB was awaiting a letter of undertaking from Lynas regarding the matter.

Meanwhile, Fuziah said that the lawsuit against Lynas will be heard on Feb 28.

The lawsuit was filed by 10 local residents, who accused Lynas of ignoring their fears of health and environmental repercussions.

Government sets up monitoring unit
In another development, the government announced that an independent monitoring unit will be formed to undertake a construction audit at the Lynas’ refinery plant in Gebeng.

This is to ensure compliance to all standards imposed by the appropriate and relevant professional bodies, the government said through a joint ministerial statement by four ministers whose portfolios are directly associated with Lynas’ application to set up and operate the plant.

A condition imposed by the AELB on Lynas is for the submission of details of the plans and location of a proposed permanent disposal facility that will manage the residue, if any, generated by the factory. The submission must be made within 10 months from the date the TOL is issued.

“This requirement must be complied with regardless of any alternative proposal Lynas may make for the management or disposal of the factory residue (e.g. recycling, conversion into products that can be sold, etc.),” the joint ministerial statement said.

The statement was issued by International Trade and Industry Minister Mustapa Mohamad; Science and Technology Minister Maximus Johnity Ongkili; Energy, Green Technology and Water Minister Douglas Uggah Embas; and Health Minister Liow Tiong Lai.

“Any Permanent Disposal Facility (PDF) proposed by Lynas shall be located remotely and away from populated areas.

“All residue and waste water shall be fully treated meeting stipulated standards prior to discharge. There will be zero discharge of industrial waste water,” the statement said.

It added that the government will continue to engage in a transparent and open manner.