The Anti-Nuclear Alliance of Western Australia (Anawa) wants the Australian Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to review Lynas' procedures for its mining operations in Mt Weld.

In a statement today, Anawa said this was because changes to Lynas' procedures at the site have not gone through appropriate approvals as its current operations are based on approvals issued more than a decade ago.

NONE "The approvals given 14 years ago need to be re-examined by the EPA and stronger regulations need to be put in place to ease the fears of the community," Anawa spokesperson Marcus Atkinson said today.

The Envrionmental Defenders Office, an environmental NGO providing legal assistance, will lodge a referral with the EPA on the matter tomorrow, on behalf of Anawa.

"The EPA needs to take a serious look at the Lynas operations at Mt Weld along with the transportation of this radioactive material to Fremantle Port for export.

"There needs to be extremely stringent safeguards in place to protect the residents of Fremantle and other communities on the transport route," Atkinson said.

Malaysiakini has contacted Lynas for comments and is awaiting its reply.

Meanwhile, StopLynas.org , an Australian-based anti-Lynas group, has launched an online petition urging Australian politicians to ban Lynas' export of rare earths from Mt Weld to Gebeng, Kuantan, where the company's processing plant is based.

The petition, which aims to gather 50,000 signatures, has seen more than 3,000 people signing it since it was launched on March 2.

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