LYNAS
1. The Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Khairy Jamaluddin told the Dewan Rakyat yesterday that Lynas must “start” the process to develop the Permanent Waste Disposal Facility (PDF) for their toxic radioactive wastes (WLP) by March 2021 failing which Lynas’s operating licence will be revoked.
2. “Start” is meaningless. It appears that this sort of lenient, unclear and open-ended condition was set just to accommodate Lynas in order to facilitate their continued operations in our country. It is clearly not meant to protect the interest and safety of the people.
3. What is more important is not when the construction of the PDF “starts” but when the construction of the PDF will be completed and all toxic radioactive wastes can be removed from site and safely disposed off.
4. On August 15, 2019 the Atomic Energy Licensing Board (AELB) said that the “construction of the PDF has to be expedited to minimize the risks posed by the pile of WLP radioactive wastes which has exceeded 580,000 tonnes piled up in the temporary residue storage facility, which is exposed to the threat of naturall disaster like massive floods.”
5. Our law, Regulation 21 of the Atomic Energy Licensing (Radioactive Waste Management) Regulations 2011 says that radioactive wastes must not be stored in areas prone to natural disasters.
6. The minister must exercise his ministerial duties to protect the people by ensuring that this law is enforced without further delay.
7. Until today, the people are still in the dark as to where exactly is the location for the PDF. We do not know whether any studies on the suitability of the location have been done. What happens if the site choosen is not suitable or is unacceptable to the people?
8. As clearly stated by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in their 2011 mission report on Lynas, which our government claimed Lynas has complied with, the location for the PDF must be determined in consultation with stakeholders before Lynas can be allowed to start operations.
9. Unless all these issues are clearly ironed out, the government should not allow Lynas to generate more radioactive wastes on our land.
WONG TACK
Bentong MP
17 July 2020