I refer to the comments by Lee Mun Kit to the issues raised by Sahabat Alam Malaysia on the fears of the residents of Bukit Koman in our press statement published in Malaysiakini (Aug 17, 2009).

The residents have been very ably advised by experts in the field, one of whom has worked on mining issues around the world for over 25 years, and has, in particular, examined gold mines using cyanide solutions as the extractant.

One of them was also a member of the steering committee that established the International Cyanide Management Code. Many things that are safe, if strict controls are taken, are extraordinarily dangerous when things go wrong.

Take for example, the Baia Mare spill, in which a retaining wall failed at the Aurul gold processing plant in Romania, releasing a wave of cyanide and heavy metals that moved quickly from one river to the next through Romania, Hungary, Serbia, and Bulgaria, killing fish and other wildlife and poisoning drinking water.

Or the Omai gold mine spill (in Guyana), where 3.2 billion litres of cyanide tainted waste contaminated the Essequibo river which also led to discolouration and health problems.

Never should a mine such as this in Bukit Koman be allowed to operate in close proximity to a residential community. The nearest house is barely 20 feet away from the tailings pond.

The residents' experts have advised that none of the mines like this one in the world is within even 10km of a village. This is an area of very high rainfall (two-metres/year) and the potential for accidents is large.

In a remote area, an accident is much less likely to cause substantial impact on a community than when it is sited so close to a village. At a minimum, this requires much greater concerns for safety.

The mine's operations began in February this year. In the same month, the residents of Kampung Bukit Koman smelt noxious fumes on several occasions, and continue to do so until today.

The residents have begun to suffer from all sorts of physical ailments, such as giddiness and shortness of breath, irritation to their eyes and throat, nausea and for some result in an itchy rash on their bodies. The residents have been experiencing discomfort and are falling ill.

No one has been able to explain why the residents are experiencing all these ailments. No one has been able to tell the residents what the noxious fumes are.

When the residents complained to the Department of Environment (DoE), it installed monitoring equipment for merely six days, and immediately after the equipment was taken away, the noxious fumes recurred.

Is it fair for anyone to live in fear of unknown substances in their environment, when it is clear that the community is suffering? Perhaps Lee Mun Kit may have a better explanation for this.

According to our experts, there is a reasonable certainty of pollution of groundwater resources, and of the general environment by the discharges of the process undertaken in the gold mine in Bukit Koman.

The greatest environmental and public health risk of the project is the potential release of heavy metals that could contaminate groundwater and surface water supplies in the vicinity of the project area, and which would potentially include arsenic, cadmium, lead and mercury.

These metals will remain in the reprocessed tailing solution. When the solution is discharged, there is a danger that the discharge could contaminate surface water and groundwater, depending on the location of the discharge and conditions such as weather.

Besides the risk of being a source of heavy-metal contamination, the treated tailings are a potential source of acid-mine drainage (AMD), an environmental problem that could poison water resources in the vicinity of the mining area for several decades, if not centuries.

This very problem has occurred in Sabah at the site of the now closed Mamut Copper Mine, where rivers in the surrounding areas have consistently high acidity and elevated concentrations of dissolved metals.

The villagers are entitled to be emotional when their health, safety and future are at stake. However, their emotional response is backed by their experience on the ground, scientific research, and advice. Their response is perfectly understandable in the circumstances.