Problems at Lynas factory can cause radioactive leaks, say experts

Prevailing problems in waste management, storage, disposal facility and waste cleaning at the Lynas factory can lead to radioactive leakages if the Australian firm fails to address the issues, said experts t at a seminar in Kuala Lumpur today. The mining company’s refinery near Kuantan, Pahang, has several problems, which experts said in the event…

Anti-Lynas group enters politics to bring down BN in Pahang

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 30 — Environmental group Himpunan Hijau today said it will campaign against the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition in Pahang in its bid to stop Lynas from operating its controversial rare-earth plant in the state. “Himpunan Hijau from today onwards is entering politics,” the group’s chairman Wong Tack (picture) told a press conference…

One investment Malaysia did not need

COMMENT Whoever assessed the criteria for giving Lynas Corp of Australia a licence to operate a rare earths processing plant at Gebeng near Kuantan did the area and the country a great disservice. That decision calls into question our processes for determining and evaluating foreign investment options and requires that we make a complete overhaul…

German expert: Lynas’ waste recycling plan ‘nonsense’

Lynas’ plan to recycle the wastes from its rare earths refining processes is “nonsense” and not feasible, according a researcher from the Germany-based think tank Oeko Institute. The institute’s senior researcher and engineer Gerhard Schmidt said that even if the Lynas Advanced Material Plant (Lamp) dilutes its water leach purification (WLP) waste stream down to…

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Winner of Greenwalk photo contest winner: Tan Boo Keat

Radiologist sows doubt over Lynas recycling plan

Despite repeated boasts by Lynas that wastes from its rare earths refinery in Gebeng, Pahang, can be recycled into commercially safe products, an Australian nuclear radiologist cautions that such technology has yet to be proven successful. Peter Karamoskas (left), a nuclear radiologist for 13 years and represents the Australian public on the Radiation Safety Committee…

Lynas’ waste plans a toxic pipe dream

DEC 20 — Australian rare earth company Lynas has always known it had a waste problem. It plans to process rare earth concentrate, imported from its mine at Mount Weld in Western Australia, at its Lynas Advanced Materials Plant (LAMP) in Malaysia. It will not only produce rare earths for export but also a huge…

The toxic waste that’s not in our backyard

DEC 18 — If a manufacturing plant involving radioactive materials moved into your community, one of the first things you would ask is, “what’s going to happen to the waste?” This is exactly how residents of Kuantan reacted when the Australian company Lynas announced plans to build LAMP, the world’s biggest rare earth processing plant…

TANAH YANG TERDERA (Tormented Land)

(courtesy: Himpunan Hijau 2.0) TANAH YANG TERDERA Di uzur lidah tahunan ini, tidak terdengarkah kita geletar tanah yang tersangat resah—secara cekal, penuh ranggi memarah—goncang alam membantah? Usah kita berdusta lagi walau demi faedah diri; juga usah pepura tidak lagi mendengar pesan ngeri; atau tidak pun terhidu bau cebisan nahas nadir bumi, atau tidak terasa kencangnya…

Green activists take a bite at Pahang MB’s ‘ear’

(courtesy: Himpunan Hijau 2.0) Himpunan Hijau activists today had a go at Pahang Menteri Besar Adnan Yaakob’s ear, after the MB famously declared he would cut off his ears should BN lose in Bentong in the coming GE because of the controversial Lynas plant. Hitting the bustling streets of Bentong this morning, activists distributed ear-shaped…