It is up to Lynas Corp to find a way to dispose of hazardous waste from its rare earths refinery in Pahang, said Health Minister Liow Tiong Lai, as the government of Western Australia state has refused to take on the responsibility to do away with it.

“Whatever residue, if need be, Lynas needs to undertake to send it back to the original source,” he said.

Liow said this in response to his recent recommendation for the waste from the rare earths refinery to be shipped back to Australia, where Lynas Corp’s rare earths mine is located.

Yesterday, Stop Lynas Save Malaysia (SMSL) coalition chairperson Tan Bun Teet countered Liow’s suggestion, saying that it is not a viable solution as Malaysia has ratified the Basel Convention which prohibits the exports of radioactive waste.

The Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal, known simply as the Basel Convention, is an international treaty designed to reduce the movement of hazardous waste between nations, and specifically to prevent the transfer of hazardous waste from developed to less developed countries.

NONE Liow ( right ), however, claimed that the convention’s stipulations are only applicable to “normal waste residues”, adding that “if the waste is radioactive, it is not controlled under the convention”.

Nevertheless, Liow insisted that he is “no expert” on the matter and urged the media to forward any further questions pertaining the issue to the Atomic Energy Licensing Board (AELB).

Earlier this month, AELB agreed grant a temporary operating licence (TOL) to Lynas for two years, on condition the mining firm meets five requirements, including submitting a detailed plan for a permanent disposal facility for waste from the plant within 10 months from the date of the licence being issued.

NONE At AELB’s weekly briefing yesterday, director-general Raja Abdul Aziz Raja Adnan ( right ) said that Liow’s suggestion was one of AELB’s conditions imposed on Lynas.

“In the TOL (temporary operating licence), the condition reads, if necessary, Lynas will give a letter of undertaking that they would accept the return of the waste during the temporary operating licence period,” Raja Abdul Aziz had said .

‘Rakyat’s safety is government’s priority’

Liow stressed that the “rakyat’s health and safety” was the government’s “priority” in ensuring Lynas Corp fulfils its conditions.

“And that’s my priority as the health minister. I’m very concerned about the safety and health of the rakyat,” he said.

Kuantan residents filed a judicial review to cancel the TOL last week, a move that could further delay the operations of the RM645 million refinery, which is expected to begin by June.

Anti-Lynas groups are gearing up for a nationwide rally - dubbed Himpunan Hijau 2.0 - this Sunday to protest against the refinery.

 

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