Ksu visits opposition false allegations 14 dec 2011

LYNAS ANSWERS

FALSE ALLEGATIONS

ABOUT LAMP

FALSE Allegations by Opponents of the LAMP

Allegations Facts

Regulations

1. Lynas takes advantage of weaknesses in

Malaysian regulations by proposing

Chinese standards – FALSE

Lynas adheres to all Malaysian and Australian regulations and

International standards. Malaysian regulations are equivalent

to, and in some cases stricter than international standards.

2. Australian regulations restrict construction

of a rare earths processing plant within

35km radius of residential areas – FALSE

There is no such regulation in Australia or international law.

The nearest town to Lynas’ Mt Weld mine is Laverton, which is

35 km away. This distance has been misrepresented as an

Australian regulatory requirement.

3. Lynas is planning to import rare earths

concentrate without a license – FALSE

Lynas respects and abides by all Malaysian Government

conditions, regulations and limitations. Lynas has no plans to

import rare earths concentrate until a license is granted. Lynas

imports equipment and construction materials on a regular

basis.


Allegations Facts

Regulations

4. Lynas came to Malaysia to avoid the

strict Australian regulations - FALSE

Lynas came to Malaysia for economic reasons.

Gebeng is a well established, petro-chemical industrial

park which has access to port facilities, high grade

chemicals, a well educated and skilled work force,

reliable utilities and very good infrastructure.

Malaysian regulations are equal to, and in some cases,

stricter than Australian regulations.

5. Lynas was chased out from

Terengganu due to environmental

reasons – FALSE

Lynas received approvals from the Malaysian

authorities, AELB and DOE, for its original proposed

site in Terengganu. Lynas met all the environmental

and regulatory requirements.


Allegations Facts

Radiological & Environment

1. Lynas is a nuclear plant - FALSE Lynas is NOT a nuclear plant. It is a chemical processing

plant. Lynas processes and operations are standard for the

chemical industry, and similar to other plants in the Gebeng

industrial park.

2. Lynas is the same as Mitsubishi Asian Rare

Earth (ARE) in Bukit Merah – FALSE

There is no comparison. Lynas Rare Earths Concentrate

contains naturally occurring radioactive material (NORM),

similar to many other mineral concentrates processed around

the world. ARE’s raw material was “monazite” from amang (tin

tailings) which contains 37 times more radioactivity than

Lynas Mount Weld raw material. The waste residue from

monazite processing is 60 times more radioactive.

3. The environment will be polluted because

the plant is located on swamp land with a

shallow water table – FALSE

Site preparation work has been extensive. Two meters of top

soil was removed and replenished. Piling and reinforcement

exceeds requirements. The Residue Storage Facility is built

above ground level, with high density plastic lining and a clay

layer. Monitoring equipment is installed to detect any risk of

leakage.


Allegations Facts


4. Lynas will cause radioactive rain from the

gas released by the stack - FALSE

Lynas will not cause radioactive rain. There is no significant

exposure , nor health and safety risk from Lynas emissions to

air. But to address people’s concerns, Lynas has installed

European air monitoring equipment on site and in town to

measure and clearly demonstrate to everyone that it will

cause zero harm.

5. The plant uses a lot of acid that can

contaminate the soil – FALSE

The facilities are built to Malaysian and international

standards for chemical plants, to ensure containment of all

process materials. All LAMP process areas are built on

bunded concrete structures, so any acid spill would be

contained in the bund and will not come into contact with the

ground.

6. Lynas plant will pollute the river with

radioactive material – FALSE

Thorium is not soluble in water from the site. Thorium is

chemically extracted from the process water and contained in

the Residue Storage Facility, which meets all international

standards for safe storage and handling.

7. Lynas did not carry out any study on

internal radiation exposure – FALSE

Lynas included a radiation exposure study (for external as

well as internal radiation exposure) in its all its Radiation

Impact Assessments, as per the AELB and international

requirements.


Allegations Facts


9. Pahang tourism industry, fishing

industry and small to medium

sized businesses will suffer from

Lynas operation - FALSE

A Radiological Impact Assessment (RIA)

confirms Lynas will NOT pose radiological risk to

the public or the environment – estimated

exposures of 0.002mSv/year compared to 1.0

mSv/year public exposure which is the allowable

standard under Malaysian or international

regulations.


Allegations Facts


11. Radon and Thoron can travel

thousands of miles and cause health

problems - FALSE

The IAEA independent review of LAMP assessed

emissions to air, water and land. This important review

concluded that LAMP does not present a public health

exposure risk. It is important to note that radon and

thoron are gases with very short half lives, and cannot

travel thousand of miles and cause health problems.

But to address public concerns, LAMP has installed

two Aerosol Monitoring Systems (AMS) on site and in

Kuantan to continuously monitor, measure, and clearly

demonstrate to everyone that it will cause zero harm.

12. No level of radioactivity is safe -

FALSE.

Radiation is all around us. Radiation is used in the

field of medicine every day. There is low level radiation

from appliances we use every day such as televisions,

radios, computers and light globes.


Allegations Facts

Economy

1. Lynas brings no benefits to

Malaysia and Kuantan - FALSE

• Employment: direct employees 350, contract

staff 300, indirect employment by supporting

industries > 1000

• FDI value of RM 2.3 billion with annual

operating expenditure of RM 600 million. Total

contracts available to Malaysian contractors is

RM 1,168 million of which RM 513 million is

for locally based contractors in the Kuantan

area

• Potential downstream applications in rare

earths - joint ventures may create additional

employment for 1200


Allegations Facts

Waste Management

1. The waste residue will be stored

permanently at the Gebeng site -

FALSE

The Residue Storage Facility at the Gebeng site is

only for temporary storage. However it is designed and

built to international standards suitable for permanent

storage. Permanent storage may not be required as

Lynas is actively developing their potential for re-use

and recycling in commercial applications.

2. Lynas produces 32,000 tons of WLP

per year with 0.165% Thorium i.e. 50

tons of Thorium per year –

MISLEADING & CAUSING FEAR

This allegation implies that Lynas is extracting or

concentrating the Thorium in the water leached

purification residue (WLP). Lynas is neither extracting

nor concentrating the thorium content. The

concentration remains the same.


Allegations Facts

Waste Management

3. Lynas declares the residue as non

radioactive based on China’s

standards of 74 Bq/g – FALSE

Lynas has always adhered to international and AELB

standards in the handling and storage of waste

residues. Only one of the Lynas waste residues

contains a very low level of radioactivity at 6 Bq/g

4. Australia requires waste to be

returned to the mine – FALSE

There is no such law in Australia. There are many

examples of mineral concentrates containing naturally

occurring radioactive material (NORM) that are

transported across Australia and around the world.

Waste residues are not required to be returned to the

point of origin when they can be safely stored, reused

or recycled.


Allegations Facts

Others

1. Lynas Malaysia is managed by

Australians – FALSE

Lynas Malaysia is staffed and managed by

Malaysians. The team comprises Malaysian

and international technical experts, including five

with specific experience in the Rare Earth

industry.

Ksu visits opposition false allegations 14 dec 2011

Technology

Transcript of Ksu visits opposition false allegations 14 dec 2011