With the Temporary Operating Licence (TOL) issued to the Lynas rare earths plant expiring today, the Atomic Energy Licensing Board (AELB) has agreed to grant the controversial plant a Full Operating State Licence (FOSL).

AELB director-general Hamrah Mohd Ali ( right ) confirmed with Malaysiakini today that the board agreed at a meeting last week to issue a two-year FOSL to Lynas.

Hamrah said the decision was based on Lynas having fully complied with the conditions set by AELB during its TOL operating stage.

According to Hamrah, the board has the right to issue a three-year FOSL to Lynas but has decided only to grant a two-year licence.

He said that that the board members have the right to decide on the period of the licence, and he was unable to provide the details of the decision-making process since he was not involved.

“In fact, I cannot provide a detailed statement as I was not involved in the decision of the board,” he said.

However, he stressed that Lynas had complied with the TOL conditions as the board had agreed to issue the FOSL.

He added that Lynas can apply for renewal when the FOSL expires two years later.

‘We act based on facts, science and figures’

When asked on the allegation that Lynas had not announced the location of its permanent disposal facility and hence did not fulfil the condition, Hamrah dismissed the criticism, saying that those were merely “interpretations”.

“The problem you raised that members of the public had said that the condition of the (temporary operating) licence had not been complied with, that was their interpretation.

“But we (act) based on facts, science and figures, we are not (acting) based on hearsay,” he stressed.

Despite making several phone calls, Malaysiakini had failed to obtain a response from Lynas.

The Atomic Energy Licensing Board (AELB) had issued the two-year TOL to Lynas on Sept 3, 2012 with five conditions, including the disclosure of the permanent disposal facility (PDF) of the radioactive waste.

The Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry later imposed two extra conditions over the licence, which required Lynas to come up with a method to immobilise the radioactive elements in its waste, as well as an emergency response plan on dust control.

However, former AELB director-general Raja Abdul Aziz Raja Adnan had confirmed that Lynas’ PDF proposal submitted to the board did not suggest the location of the intended waste facility.

Nevertheless, Lynas had always stressed that the plant had always fulfilled the government’s requirements and causes minimum harm to the environment and human health.