German institute's findings confirm fears over Lynas plant

Jan 29: A report released by a prominent German environmental research institute has warned that the controversial Lynas rare earth refinery in Gebeng, Pahang has not met safety standards, confirming widespread fears which have resulted in continued public protests against the Australian firm.

Oeko-Institute, a scientific research institute specialising in environmental issues, recently conducted a study on behalf of the Save Malaysia Stop Lynas (SMSL) movement to detail the environmental impact of the Gebeng plant (right).

While the study noted that the demand for rare-earths has increased due to China's restrictive export of the material, it also warned that strict procedures must be followed to avoid the hazards caused by any new rare-earth plant outside China.

"To establish additional primary production of rare earths outside China therefore makes sense. However, high environmental standards have, of course, to be met.

"But this is not the case in one of the first new facilities to be operated outside China, as this study of Oeko-Institute on the Lynas plant demonstrates," said a statement accompanying the release of the report yesterday.

Among others, the report says that Lynas's treatment systems for controlling emissions of acidic gases, acids and dust are "neither state-of-the-art nor best-available-technology".

Not state-of-the-art

It says Lynas's Residue Storage Facilities (RSF) is not state-of-the-art with respect to leakage prevention.

"A state-of-the-art design would use 2.5 mm HDPE and at least two 25 cm layers of clay instead of 1 mm HDPE [High Density Polyethylene] and only a single 30 cm layer of clay. The inappropriate layout will result in leakage of radioactive and toxic constituents to the near roundwater even under normal operating conditions," the report warns.

The report also notes that the waste water discharged by Lynas after having used it to dissolve rare earth compounds would contain toxic constituents, and as such allowing it to be transported some three kilometres to the Balok river before finally flowing to the South China Sea was unacceptable as it could be consumed by humans and animals.

"Water of this low quality should be transported in a pipeline that does not allow seepage to escape to the groundwater and prevent unintended water use," it adds.

The report further points to a lack of safety measures on storage of hazardous materials inside the plant such as concentrated acids, as well as the absence of a permanent disposal facility to manage wastes.

"No waste generation should be allowed until the necessary steps to establish such a facility have been performed to the required safety standards and until this management option has been finally established.

"The government of Malaysia should establish a sound and well-defined funding system, to be applied to facilities where later decommissioning, cleanup and disposal operation is vital to
guarantee for public health and safety in the long term. As long as this is not established with the necessary standard and transparency, the operation of those facilities should not be allowed in order not to place undue burdens on future generations," concludes the report.

Meanwhile, SMSL chairman Tan Bun Teet said the findings by Oeko-Institute showed that the Lynas plant was not a "zero-harm operation" as claimed by the government.

"Now we have a detailed document explaining why the licence should never have been issued and how the Lynas project will pollute our environment and its radioactive waste will leave undue burden for future generations," said Tan, adding that the report would be used for future court cases against Lynas and widely publicised.