I came upon an excellent article written by one Gan Pei Ling in the Nutgraph.
I would urge you to read her thoughts first before you continue reading mine here.
She opines that the anti-Lynas movement is based on an “irrational fear over radiation pollution from the low-level radioactive waste of thorium and uranium rather than informed opinions on the issue”.
To her credit, she also zeroes in on the failure of the authorities to publicise the project before approving the refinery’s construction in 2008, hold public briefings to inform the surrounding communities about the plant, and the error on the part of the Pahang government to approve construction without first finding a suitable location for Lynas to store its low-level radioactive waste.
Is my opposition to Lynas based on a fear of the possibility of hazardous exposure to radiation?
Of a certainty, yes.
The all-important question, though, in response to Ms Gan, is, are my fears irrational?
I take ‘irrational’ to mean ‘without basis’ or ‘without giving thought to all relevant considerations’.
I accept, as she contends, that “rare earth elements are increasingly being used in our consumer products including electronic screens, disk drives, MP3 players and hybrid cars”.
To oppose Lynas and yet use all these consumer products may well smack of rank hypocrisy, unless our concerns go beyond just the matter of the potential radiation from rare earth.
Which, I will contend, is the case here.
Ms Gan suggests that compared to the situation in China, now touted as the biggest producer of the rare earth elements, “Malaysians are in a much better position to scrutinise the government and corporations. Some may argue that Australia is a much more advanced democracy with more stringent environmental regulations”.
“But why can’t we pressure our own government to live up to the same, if not better, standards?”, she asks.
Here, Ms. Gan, lies the very heart of my misgivings with this move to process rare earth in my country.
I will put my case in three parts so that you will see that it is not irrational.
You may not agree with my rationale, Ms. Gan, but consider if they are legitimate.
First, the way of life we are accustomed to.
Everyone is busy attending to their own daily lives.
We leave governance and all it entails to, well, the government.
From rubbish collection to national defence, our way of life necessitates that we leave all matters of governance in their hands, hoping always that they will not betray the trust reposed in them.
This first consideration of mine brings me immediately to my second concern in connection to the Lynas issue, which is the systemic corruption that has seemingly become second nature in our system of administration.
In the context of the Lynas refinery plant and the proposed waste disposal dumpsite, I ask myself who will ensure that they comply with the highest possible safety specifications?
Who will ensure that if the foundations are to reach 30 feet below ground level, that they do not stop at just 10 feet?
Who will ensure that if the disposal site walls are specified to be of a certain concrete strength and reinforced with a certain measure of steel, that they are indeed so?
Government inspectors and enforcement officers?
Who was it that supervised the construction of the stadium in Terengganu, where the roof came crashing in not too long ago?
And the Cold Storage building in Section 14, PJ, that came tumbling down like a stack of cards?
Highland Towers in Ampang?
Read the damning judgment of the High Court that found culpability on the part of the local authorities in the supervision of its construction.
Finally, and perhaps most importantly, I turn to consider that I am dealing with a government that is today, complete devoid of any credibility.
Not too long ago, the then BN government led by Dr M assured the people of Bukit Merah that the rare earth refinery plant located there was safe.
We know differently today.
Najib’s administration would today have us believe that the plant in Gebeng and the disposal site, wherever it might be located, will be safe.
I ask you, Ms Gan, what have we seen in the present administration of Najib that should move us to lend any credibility to these assurances?
These, Ms Gan, are my thoughts that have led me to oppose Lynas commencing operations in my country to process rare earth.
Seen in this light, you may well appreciate now that my concerns are not so much the risks that rare earth pose per se, but the real risk of radiation brought on by a disaster owing to dishonest and corrupt management by the authorities of this project.
What would move me to agree to a plant being set up here?
First, we remove BN from Putrajaya.
Whether through the ballot box or otherwise.
Then allow the new government two terms to convince us that they are as clean, honest, and trustworthy as we expect them to be.
Achieve this and we may then be ready for a rare earth refinery plant in our country.
Jade
April 12, 2012
So you are saying that the plant is safe, IF they have adhered to the correct standards/procedures?
The waste has less radiation than lite salt which people sprinkle on their food and eat.
If there was a disaster, and lite salt spilled everywhere, would it be a radioaktiv end of the world?
Windmaster Hiroaki
April 12, 2012
Yeah, fuel in cars are flamable, concrete can crack over time, radiation from cellphones might burn our neurons, ya da ya da… & heck, all artificial shits in our food & drinks might do whatever damage to our systems over time. all of those have risks albeit at a smaller scale. are you saying that we should stay away from them too because of the risks they pose?…
JinHou
April 12, 2012
Good one Haris. Although I believe that the location of the plant is fundamentally flawed, the sheer incompetence of the government is one of the reason why we oppose the plant.
Socrates
April 12, 2012
Hear, Hear !! Spot on, as usual, my busy friend, especially this weekend !!
Ipohgal
April 12, 2012
Safe or not safe, I simply do not want any trances of rare earth in the country, now or in future. As a mother, I do not want to take chances, for the sake of my children.
Windmaster Hiroaki
April 12, 2012
Then you should just stop buying electronics altogether, as rare earths will be in ALL of them. what you said here is PRECISELY what Ms. Gan in the original article said to be an irrational fear. everything advanced humans make carry with a certain amount of risks. buildings can topple & cars can blow up. would you just stay away from those because there is such possibilites? & you said you don’t want the plant in the country because of the risks it poses. then are you implying that you’re ok with it so long as the plant is set in another country? why then it’s full-blown hypocrisy.
Much as i agree with the points in the article, i can’t agree with you. if the government’s credible & do their jobs as they should be, i’d more than welcome the plant in the country. just too bad that our current government is one of the lowest grades in the world…
Johnnie Thaksin
April 13, 2012
Agree… I remember a certain gentleman telling me about the japan quake last year that we shd be worried if say, Kenya(no offence intended) were handling the disaster instead of japan. Our govt n ppl just are not matured enough to handle this project. I don’t agree tho about asking ppl not to buy iPhones if we r anti rare earth. Most things emit radiation.. even us humans… so does that mean u don’t go near a human? Most Malaysians r ignorant about the term radiation…. what shd be done is to educate (ours is better than Germany,uk,us,japan right?) The ppl about rare earth n radiation. Not just simply saying that its safe… where does that conclusion come from? Out of mr pm’s arse? That’s why so many ppl are against this.. cost they think that all those safety conclusions did come out of someones arse.
Kai-Lit Phua
April 12, 2012
Dear Encik Haris
1. There’s radioactive wastes and then there’s non-radioactive, but toxic, wastes too (going to be produced in huge amounts):
Mainland Chinese sources have been quoted as saying that “Every ton of rare earth produced generates approximately 8.5 kilograms (18.7 lbs of) of fluorine and 13 kilograms (28.7 lbs) of dust; and using concentrated sulfuric acid high temperature calcination techniques to produce approximately one ton of calcined rare earth ore generates 9,600 to 12,000 cubic meters … of waste gas containing dust concentrate, hydrofluoric acid, wastewater plus one ton of radioactive waste residue (containing water)”. Furthermore, Wang Caifeng, the Deputy-Director of the Materials Department of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology actually mentioned that 2,000 tons of mine tailings (which contain radioactive material such as thorium) is created for every ton of rare earth elements extracted!
Note that Lynas’ capacity is going to be 22,000 tons of rare earth elements per year !
2. Prolonged exposure to low level radioactive wastes is still hazardous to one’s health (especiailly to children). It’s not only thorium. There is also uranium. And the products of radioactive decay of thorium and uranium.
TheFacts
April 12, 2012
Not too long ago, the then BN government led by Dr M assured the people of Bukit Merah that the rare earth refinery plant located there was safe.
***
We know differently today.
***
Yes excatly that’s the point… The government does know better today, and they would never lett something like Bukit Merah happen again.
Dennis
April 12, 2012
In short, Malaysians dont give a shit about anything but themselves, they dont care about the quality of the work they output, they dont care about what their government does, they dont care about their fellow men and women, they dont care about their children, they dont care about anything. And while that attitude prevails they will continue to get the governments they deserver and they will continue to slowly decline back into the third world country they once were
donplaypuks
April 12, 2012
Ms Gan and Malaysians shoud understand that Lynas is not just about the possible catastrophies that might arise from transportation, extraction, treatment and storage of radioactive Thorium which has a half-life of 14 billion years, and tailings.
The extraction process also uses many other dangerous chemicals such as concentrated sulphuric acid etc. which issue has not been addressed by our (wooden) Cabinet, AELB or MIDA or the authorities in Pahang. This highly toxic acid has to transported to Gebeng and stored. Where will its waste be disposed off or stored?
Our own experience at Rare Earth Ipoh and the erecent incident at Fukuyama shows that planning has got to improve by 100% to combat the vagaries of nature and the unknown.
Dpp
we are all of 1 Race, the Human Race
Tok Rojak
April 12, 2012
“Ah Kung” (Grandfather) knows best. We trust Ah Kung. Ah Kung will never poison or kill us. Ah Kung gives us food and protects us… but what we don’t realize is that there is a “buyer’s beware” clause!! Malaysia Boleh?? Or Tak Boleh?? Or Mungkin Boleh?? Or cuba buat sampai boleh. Aiyaaah, every Malaysian just plods through life… from one tea tarik to another. This includes the mentality of our ministers. So for Bukit Merah, leave it to the experts ma – Siapa? Mitusbishi. For Gebeng? Lynas!! After all what do we know? Celaka – mahu I-phone, tak mahu; bahaya or selamat… Just leave it to Lynas to make sure plant is built safely, maintain properly, dispose waste nicely like good old boy…
But alas, as Rudyard Kipling said…. tusk, tusk… this is “the white man’s burden”
Antares
April 12, 2012
Reading Gan Pei Ling’s piece, it appears that this young woman has a highly developed left brain, subscribes to empiricism and believes that science can provide a solution to every problem. This is how we have been formatted to grow up as consumers of the latest gadgets – only questioning the status quo when things go seriously wrong as in Bhopal, Chernobyl, Buklt Merah, Fukushima.
First of all, the unholy alliance between corporate entities and political mafias in the rush for unlimited wealth has caused more destruction in less time than almost any other human activity on earth, short of full-scale war. This indicates a myopic worldview founded on economic determinism and enforced by a top-heavy power hierarchy – the residue of fallen empires attempting to reinvent themselves through commerce and industry. And this has led to the vast gulf between the 1% and the 99% – a totally unacceptable, out-of-whack state of affairs that inevitably leads to dystopic nightmare scenarios described in Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World and George Orwell’s 1984, wherein a tiny, privileged elite maintains godlike control over a huge, semi-conscious army of office drones and worker ants.
So, apart from the very real hazards of environmental pollution (and to say that other industries are equally polluting does not justify adding to the problem), we are looking at a classic case of corporate hubris working in cahoots with a money-mad rogue regime that believes itself immune from overthrow – pretty much the same sort of tragedy we have witnessed in the case of Shell in Nigeria, BP in the Gulf of Mexico, and a consortium of mining companies in West Papua.
The real benefits of allowing Lynas to operate a refinery in Malaysia are negligible. The Najib regime. in its desperation to lure foreign direct investments, has leaned over backwards to accommodate this corporate player – granting it a 12-year tax holiday and fast-tracking approvals with no genuine concern for public health and safety. Those who stand to profit are a few well-connected political cronies (Mokhzani Mahathir, for one) and whoever has received monetary incentives from Lynas (apart from MOSTI). Lynas is hell-bent on starting its operations, although it admits to having no solution to toxic waste disposal (claiming the dirty stuff can be recycled as fertilizer and further spread around the food chain!)
The sneaky, morally reprehensible manner in which the entire project has been implemented makes it all the more offensive and abusive of public trust.
Gan Pei Ling may believe she’s being “reasonable” in suggesting that Lynas be allowed to operate – though under stricter supervision (by whom?) – but that’s akin to trusting Umno or some wicked uncle with your children’s future. In this respect, she is entirely naive and quite clueless as to what evil corporate entities and political mafias are capable of. Her stance strikes me as a pretense at “journalistic objectivity” – as if it’s fashionable to be cool and stand aloof from the anti-Lynas protest, just because the opposition leaders have jumped on the bandwagon. That speaks well of her independent-mindedness as a thinking individual – but in my eyes she has merely adopted a contrarian stance, just to stand out from the crowd.
The well-worn argument that the digital world NEEDS rare earth products for all the fancy gadgets we use like smartphones and iPads and hybrid cars doesn’t carry any weight with me. If making and selling these consumer products will hasten the complete destruction of our physical environment – then we have no choice but to stop throwing away perfectly operable cellphones just to keep up with the Shahrizats, and find ways to bypass the hazardous by-products – or stop producing this intoxicating-but-toxic life-threatening junk.
Sam Chye
April 12, 2012
people have died..I`ve seen it myself…that’s good enough reason for me to say no…do your rare earth in australia if the gomen there allows you…i can do without my mobile phone…
Ms. Gan, move to Gebeng
Remie
April 12, 2012
ALL the approving & review agencies are either Government-related (so they need to toe the Government line) or are those pushing a nuclear agenda. The only “independent” party here is the main NGO movement, excluding PKR. I believe they are wholly Malaysian. Unless someone out there is able to link them (with documentary proof, please) to foreign parties
(NGOs with an nefarious agenda, Government, or government agencies). I am on the side of ordinary Malaysians passionate about the kind of Malaysia, we will hand over to our future generations.
The current Malaysian government & its agencies are unable to gain my trust. The same with the thousands of ordinary Malaysians, who showed up at the Himpunan Hijau rallies.
1. How does Malaysia gain from a plant with a long term tax-free status?
2. Will employ relatively few Malaysian citizens at high-value jobs?
3. Their products will be sold in the international market. There is no mention that Malaysian manufacturers will be given preferential pricings.
4. Any weakness in their operational procedures will likely endanger our citizens.
5. LYNAS have no firm plans about the permanent safe disposal of ALL waste products. Not just the radioactive component.
The bottom line: What benefits do ordinary Malaysians gain from having this plant located in Malaysia? Thus, who in Malaysia gains from the establishment of this plant? While bearing ALL the potential risks from pollution, etc.
Thus, if nothing, why allow them to establish themselves in Malaysia?
Johnnie Thaksin
April 13, 2012
Yea.. how does the plant benefit Malaysians? Financially? Health wise? Quality of life? Maybe it will mutate me enough to grow a 2nd penis to improve my sex life hhehe…..
ck
April 13, 2012
I left a lengthy comment on Nutgraph. This is a repeat.
I just like to deal with the technical risks aspect of the issues that Lynas Gebeng raises.
1) Safe if properly managed
There is no such thing as safe if probably managed, especially when casual professionals r involved. Mistake happens due to various reasons. The only safe bet is to minimize the casualty involved.
In the case of Gebeng site, that minimization of the casualty is IGNORED. Just imagine an industrial disaster like the Union carbide’s Bhopal infamy that killed thousand of Indians within hours. It happened with such a large scale of mortality bcoz the site was situated near an industrial zone within a crowded township. From the subsequent Bhopal investigations, the plant was properly managed & yet accident happened. Tell that to the deaths’ next-of-kin, & the sufferers!
No known major REO (rare earth ore) refinery is been built near populated area, except China. Many people, pro & con Lynas, do not realize that besides, radioactive wastes, highly toxic chemicals r also been used & generated during the production of the REE (rare earth elements).
Just on this count, ALL proponents of Lynas Gebeng, r playing with people’s life.
2) Waste treatment
There r two issues here – toxic chemical waste treatment & radioactive waste storage.
There r minimum infos on the toxic chemical waste treatment in any of the Lynas Gebeng’s proposal & write-ups.
This risk could have been overshadowed by the radioactive waste component of the issue involved. But it’s equally live threatening to the surrounding large population & the harms imposed on the environment. Sufficient attention MUST be given to it!
Some of my knowledgeable colleague mentioned that the toxic chemicals killed instantly. But it’s more humane than producing a future generation of mutant, due to the low level radioactive risk! This is a cruel joke but it bears ALL the irony of the facts.
Lynas keeps emphasizing that the REO, lanthanide from Mt Weld, is of very low natural radioactivity. Furthermore it claimed that the residual wastes generated by the refinery process r also of low radioactivity. This is factually correct.
But the main concern about radioactive wastes in Lynas Gebeng, is NOT the radioactivity level of the materials used/generated. The MAIN issue is the RADIOACTIVE LEVEL of the radioactive wastes. This level increases as the concentration of the material increases, AND the danger to health increases exponentially due to the simple fact that radioactive reaction is a positive feedback chain reaction! This is NOT of the chain reaction level of a nuclear reactor, but nevertheless it happens & growth exponentially. From a minute none lethal level, very soon it would reach critical level due to the CONCENTRATION of the materials involved.
Thus, in a processing plant like Lynas Gebeng, there is NO such thing as low-level radioactive wastes in a refinery. As more REE is been refined, more radioactive wastes will be generated. Lynas lies that IT is neither extracting nor concentrating the Thorium, so the low level of radiation remains the same – from raw material through transport, processing and waste. common sense, as the REE been refined, the concentration of the Thorium increases, thus the radioactive level growth.
Lynas is playing semantic with radioactivity & radioactive level. Thus only the term RADIATION is been used.
This is also ONE of the reasons that in the original license granted to Lynas, by W Oz, to built the plant in Mt Weld to refine REO – all wastes MUST be returned & stored within the original site on a batch basis, ie returned as it’s been produced. No accumulation is allowed. Moreover, any waste with radioactivity of more than 2.3Bq/g MUST be diluted down to natural level & stored within the original mining shaft. Based on this, there is practically zero chance for Lynas to recycle any wastes for industrial materials.
Perhaps, the Oz govt treasures her citizen’s life more than the M’sia govt! They also DON”T buy the crap ideas of low-level radioactive wastes & safe dilution of radioactivity for commercial recycling.
3) ‘But where are the facts and context? How much radiation would the low-level radioactive waste from the Lynas plant generate? And how does it compare to the radiation we’re already exposed to in our daily life?’
Radioactive risk is an ongoing scientific study. We just don’t know much & yet the risk is potentially REAL. The study has been going on since Big-Boy was dropped in Hiroshima some 50 yrs ago. The data is still been gathered & confirmed. This is especially so with the so called low level radiation exposure.
The question we should ask is whether M’sia should be in the fore-front of this Guinea-pig investigation when we only has jaguh kampong professionals, plus the 3rd world maintenance mentality.
We should do without Lynas Gebeng in this stage of our industrial development. Period.
The painful episodes of the Asian Rare Earth plant in Bukit Merah, Perak bear witness to this past plunder of our politicians’ greed & the rakyat’s ignorance. It SHOULDN”T happened AGAIN.
Jesus
April 13, 2012
Since the Lynas plant is safe, is there any reason why it could not be sited near Putrajaya?
bkho
April 13, 2012
Actually, Malaysia, as a country, we can build anything we want.
But somehow, even with first-world infrastructure, it will all go to bust with the third-world mentality.
I’m happy to see that most of us here can think rationally and act likewise, but Haris may be right that this third-class thinking comes mainly from BN.
It’s not that we don’t want Lynas, it’s just that what MIGHT happen eventually is a total environmental disaster we could have done without.
Tok Rojak
April 13, 2012
Moving away from the Lynas issue. Indeed if we have a 1st world infrastructure but we still maintain & run things in a 3rd World mentality, its useless. We always leave the onus on the “experts” (ie. Union Carbide, Mitsubishi, Lynas etc). When things go wrong, we do damage control & cover up (Japanese same2 lah… Fukushima)
In Malaysia, this is exceptionally rampant. This is what I’ve called the “tea tarik” culture… sit by the mamak warong day in day out watching the world go by and hoping that “Ah Kung” has everything under control. “Ah Kung” needs to fix the road, buang sampah, give “ang pow” once in a while, subsidize this & that… It keeps us entrenched… By the time we wake up, 50 years have gone… Then we say, better go back to the warong & drink another glass of tea tarik before the afternoon siesta.
But I disagree with Haris that its just the BN culture that its perpetuating this mentality. Look at DSAI proposal on PTPTN (forget the brownie points he is trying to score). Then look at TPM’s reply…. PETRONAS IS NOT A GOLDEN GOOSE THAT SHOULD BE KILLED. Drop the PTPTN issue… look at both of their approaches…. PETRONAS…. the cash cow….
You can see the saliva just dripping from both BN & PR… Today, it Petronas, tomorrow milk Felda, then EPF… both sides don’t know how to create wealth only milk the golden goose until they die a natural death.
So, enough of politicans (including the Warlords, Dictators, parasites, pseudo Mandala or Gandi or whatever names their infighting is leading them to). Only wait for Lynas sit-in, then show up (as if they were activist from day one) to “save the day, save the world”? We need a Third Party to keep our politicians honest… Better still if we have a charismatic leader in the Third Party to run as independents. So the “tea tarik” mentality is not the fault of BN or PR but its us!! We perpetuate our own world view hoping that a new “Ah Kung” will replace the old one and that the new one won’t screw us. Don’t you feel tired? Want to try & play2 another 4 years even with a new Ah Kung?
Aiyaahhh… tea time…
kwai fong
April 13, 2012
A very well written article. My highest respect for Haris, the true Anak Bangsa Malaysia, the true hero of our nation. I’m with you all the way for ABU.
MMC
April 14, 2012
who cares if you get zap by radioactive materials. as far as UMNO kerala is concerned, if he says its safe, then take it.
dont like it? there is ISA for you. dont you guys forget.
JustMe
April 28, 2012
— this was a reply I made in nutgraph —–
Coal fired power plant started in an era where we have very little inkling of what is in the coal. No one took the trouble to find out. Much of the information on the thorium and uranium content of coal were discovered recently and with it a troubling correlation with low sperm count, leukimia, cancer etc of those who had the misfortune of living in the vicinity of such plants.
This is the same with the oil and gas industry. In Texas where it was first discovered, much thorium, radium and uranium came up with the oil that was pumped out of the ground. Again correlation of leukimia persisted even until 30 km away. For those areas downwind to such oilfield the distance was even greater.
Scales in pipes used in oil extraction had shown very high radioactivity.
What are we to do with such new information and discovery where COMPETENT scientific professionals had once said were safe ? Do we continue to propagate it ? In the case of coal-fired power plant we could abandon it but for those that are still operational what choice do they have ? Are new scrubbers put in place ? Is it prudent to put the coal ash in cement ? Studies done on gypsum board using low-radioactive waste had shown a mark increase in cancer incidences for those areas that had used it. Is it the same with our cement industry ? Are we unknowingly spreading carcinogen into the general population ?
For the oil and gas industry new procedures, regulations and latest sophisticated gadgets were put in place to minimise its effect on the population.
Does such industries which was based on learned ignorance from the past be formed as the basis of accepting the lynas rare-earth refinery ?