Why build Lynas waste disposal site near water source, asks MP

Why build Lynas waste disposal site near water source, asks MP



Kuantan MP Fuziah Salleh says the proposed Lynas permanent disposal facility, located near the rare earth producer’s plant in Gebeng, Pahang, has groundwater less than 1m deep. (Facebook pic)

KUALA LUMPUR: An opposition MP has questioned the government’s rationale in selecting a site in Gebeng for Lynas to set up its permanent disposal facility (PDF), meant to manage its low-level radioactive waste.

Fuziah Salleh (PH-Kuantan) said that according to a preliminary environmental impact assessment by Lynas in 2008, the site, located near the rare earth producer’s plant, has groundwater less than 1m deep.

“Bearing in mind that radioactive waste has a half life of 14 billion years, what is the rationale for choosing Gebeng as the site?

“This is more so as the initial site selected in Bukit Ketam was rejected by the Pahang department of environment on grounds that it is a water catchment area,“ she said in the Dewan Rakyat today.

When contacted, Fuziah, who has been a vocal critic of Lynas, said one of the requirements stipulated in building a PDF was for the facility to be built away from water sources.

She also expressed concern that the condition of the PDF could deteriorate after 50 years.

“There is no guarantee the waste would not leak out and contaminate the environment,” she said, adding that while it was low-level radiation, it could still pose a danger after exposure to it for a long period.

Fuziah also said she could not understand why Lynas’ operations had yet to be suspended until its PDF was built.

In August, it was reported that Lynas had been granted a six-month extension to start building its PDF.

The following month, deputy science, technology and innovation minister Ahmad Amzad Hashim said movement restrictions following the Covid-19 pandemic had delayed the search for a suitable site.