In a statement, Wong Tack also disagreed with the plan to allow Lynas to build a permanent deposit facility for its water leached purification (WLP) residue, as recommended by Putrajaya’s review committee on Lynas.
Citing the example of the residue from the Bukit Merah rare earths plant in Perak, which had to be buried under thick cement to prevent radiation from affecting the people, Wong claimed the “burying” of Lynas waste would see precious land being “sacrificed” as the waste generated was 40 times more than that produced by the Bukit Merah plant.
“Malaysia is a small country. Every inch of our land is productive and has high economic and ecological values. We must treasure every inch of it.
“If we allow Lynas to build a PDF, our children for generations to come will have to pay for the management and maintenance of Lynas’ radioactive dump for 14 billion years,” he said, adding this was how long the thorium in the waste lasted.
He claimed it would be “unfair, immoral and irresponsible” to subject future generations to unnecessary “health risks and economic burden”.
Wong also said Lynas should send its waste back to Australia and that the people of Malaysia will not allow the country to be used as a dumping ground for the waste.
He also claimed that Lynas has breached the conditions of its licence in the manner it stored its waste.
Lynas has repeatedly defended the safety of its plant, workers and the environment, citing the numerous audits by local authorities, including the Atomic Energy Licensing Board and Department of Environment as well as the United Nations’ International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
The new government’s review committee recently recognised that Lynas is intrinsically low-risk and that the company has management practices which further mitigate that risk.
Lynas has previously pointed out that those on board commercial aircraft and those living in highlands like Bentong and Genting Highlands were subjected to higher background radiation than at its plant.
It has also pointed out that its licence condition only recommends exporting the residue if it cannot construct a PDF, something which it said it will seek to do.