With the mushrooming of
rallies and “concerned” shout-outs by politicians, the Lynas Advanced Materials
Plant (LAMP) a.k.a the Lynas project has stirred up quite the controversy in
our country as of late. But how many people truly understand the issue at hand?
Chances are just a handful understand while the others are just following the
crowd because that is what people generally like doing. So, here’s the scoop on
the whole Lynas issue…
Lynas Corporation Ltd,
founded in 1985, is an Australian rare earths mining company which is listed on
the Australian Securities Exchange. Basically, it’s a big fella! What Lynas has
decided to do is to open a rare earths processing plant in Kuantan, Malaysia.
Actually, this plan was done in 2008 and work had been underway since. The Kuantan plant is going to be processing
lathamide concentrates (rare earth) from Australia that will contain thorium
& uranium (radioactive stuff… a.k.a stuff that would make you glow in the
dark… literally!) The reason as to why people are protesting against it is
because of the potential dire consequences that might radiate from the
radioactive wastes that are going to be produced by this plant.
For those who feel that
these people rallying and protesting are just over reacting and that they
should allow such industries to start in Malaysia, you might be right to some
degree. As the global economy has been drastically evolving through the recent
years, we need to find ways, new ways to sustain the national economy. While
Lynas comes with a heavy price tag, the income generated would help Malaysia
generate a good source of income…. If not for the 12 year tax exemption that is
being granted! To put it into perspective, Lynas is expected to generate AUD$
6.2 billion (RM 20.1050 billion) in pre-tax profits during its first year of
operation. With a corporate tax of 25%, Malaysia would be generously letting go
of AUD$1.55 billion (RM 5.0258 billion) in tax from Lynas. So basically, if anyone
is looking at buying a $25 million dollar diamond studded ring, that would be 201
rings flushed down the toilet. That is a LOT of rings!
Besides the “sound”
economic decision of the 12 year tax exemption, the Lynas plant and its
creation in Kuantan seem to have some serious problems. Well, for starters, the
Preliminary Environment Impact Assessment (PEIA) for Lynas does not cover the
radiation and health concerns that may emanate from the plant. When one goes
through the report, one may notice the vague notes that are being made on those
issues. There are two review processes that taking place which may very well
question the linearity of the findings. The Environmental Impact Assessment
(EIA) within the Ministry of Natural Resources & Environment (MNRE) and the
Radiological Impact Assessment (RIA) under the Atomic Energy Licensing Board
(AELB) within the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI) are
being conducted in a parallel fashion that may contaminate the findings and not
produce the thoroughness that is needed to make sound decisions that this
project truly demands.
While the plant is at a
91% completion, the Malaysian Nuclear Agency (MNA) is still in the midst of
determining the radiation safety issues pertaining to lanthanide concentrate
storage, handling & transport. With such vital information still not at the
ready, it would only work to make anyone jittery about the operations of the
plant. Speaking of operations, Lynas has only received the sitting and construction
licenses while there is a Temporary Operating License (TOL) being granted as of
recent.
Now comes the other
interesting part. Some whistle blowers who were part of the building process of
the plant had stated that some cheap material and low grade materials might
have been used during the building of the plant to reduce cost and also speed
up the process. Although the validity of the statements might be questionable,
it does seem suspicious that the Lynas project was approved in 2-3 weeks of
submission, considering the complexity of the project involving radiation
hazards with a very vague waste management, storage and disposal proposal. But
of course, recently a politician comes up by saying that they would not be
processing rare earths but only chemicals in the “rare earths plant”. And the
only thing that I could think of was “Wise men say something because they have
something to say and idiots because they have to say something”
The only way out of
this mess would be for the involved parties to make the information of the
plant available and justly evaluated by relevant sources. With the question of
health hazards looming in people’s minds, it is only fair to answer the
questions of the people especially if one is looking at scoring for the coming elections.
As there is also proposal of using the waste products as fertilizers, concrete,
plasterboards, for roads and etc., adequate information needs to be dispersed
through the system to inform all parties (including the people) of the effects
on the environment. The ability for the general populace to understand such information
may be a good question… But one might want to consider the repercussions of not
giving any information, before siphoning out the information from the reports
that would be disseminated to the public.
Last but not the least,
politicians, no matter which party they come from, should refrain from making
claims or endorsements of any sort on this project unless they know EXACTLY
what they are talking about, or until a proper study (a non biased study) on
the project is being made. The government should also reconsider the 12 year
tax exemption granted to Lynas as that amount of money can help in the sustenance
of the national economy in the upcoming years.
