MCA president Chua Soi Lek said Lynas Corporation's claim that the waste from its Gebeng plant can be reprocessed to become non-radioactive must be tested.

"Our stand is consistent that as long as the waste (from the Lynas plant), if it has radioactivity that exceeds 1 Becquerel of radiation per gram (Bq/gramme) it should be exported. How it is to be exported is the problem of Lynas.

"(Secondly) Lynas has come up with the idea that it will reprocess this radioactive waste so that it will become non-radioactive so that it can be used locally. Now that needs to be tested," said Chua in a video statement today.

NONE Chua said the Lynas Advanced Materials Plant (Lamp) in Kuantan, Pahang, was nevertheless an "important industry".

He added that that detractors had politicised the issue and had been more emotional rather than scientific.

He stressed that should Lamp's waste be more than 1Bq/gramme, "it cannot be in this country and we will make sure that they (Lynas) will follow this".

He called on the government to monitor the issue closely and had directed that MCA's health minister Liow Tiong Lai be part of the committee.

Earlier this week Lynas in countering allegations that Lamp would produce radioactive waste that may contaminate the environment, claimed that it could convert the waste into a low-radiation product that it could market.

Kuantan MP Fuziah Salleh responded pointing out that Science Technology and Innovation Minister Maximus Johnity Ongkili's support for the idea was an open admission of the plan by Lynas to dilute its radioactive waste.

"The process of dilution allows for the waste to be declassified from being labelled as radioactive," she said.