Antinuclear

Rallying opposition to Lynas rare earths plant in Malaysia

the cost of decommissioning the plant 60 years later would be five times the cost of building it.

Lynas ‘devil’ waiting at every doorstep, Free Malaysia Today, Stephanie Sta Maria,  February 22, 2012  “…..At a press conference organised ahead of Himpunan Hijau 2.0, the nationwide anti-Lynas rally this Sunday, the groups said that the severe repercussions of the Lynas Advanced Materials Plant (LAMP) has made it a national issue.

A nuclear physicist and the Green Coalition Party committee member, Ahmad Bungsu Hamid Tuah, said that Malaysians outside Kuantan were in for a bad shock if they thought they were safe just because they lived outside the LAMP postcode.

“When the Chernobyl disaster took place the radioactive particles were carried by the wind all the way to Scotland,” he stated. “The rainwater that was infused with those particles fell onto grazing fields and the sheep ended up being polluted.”

“These same particles at the huge toxic dumps in Gebeng will also be carried by the South China Sea winds and monsoon rains across West Malaysia. So don’t think you’re safe just because you don’t live in Kuantan.”

Ahmad Bungsu, who has worked on projects involving radioactive waste management and toxic waste disposal systems in America, also said that the nuclear radiation from LAMP was no different from that in the Fukushima and Chernobyl disasters.

In fact, he added, the radiation expelled by LAMP would exceed the levels of Fukushima. On top of that, he claimed that the cost of decommissioning the plant 60 years later would be five times the cost of building it.

“I challenge any Barisan Nasional (BN) politician to an open debate on Lynas,” Ahmad Bungsu said. “I have already issued this challenge to the Atomic Energy Licensing Board (AELB) but it has yet to respond.”

Meanwhile, Himpunan Hijau public relations steering committee member, Clement Chin, predicted an exodus from Gebeng to Kuala Lumpur when Lynas fires up its RM2.5 billion rare earth plant.

According to him, the property market in Gebeng has already been hit with banks turning down loan applications for houses within 2km of LAMP….. Himpunan Hijau is everyone’s platform to prevent Gebeng and Kuantan from becoming inhabitable. If Lynas is allowed to operate, then the door is open to more such plants in the future.”….

The Himpunan Hijau 2.0 rallies outside Kuantan will take place in Kuala Lumpur (Maju Junction), Penang (Speakers’ Square), Perak (Bukit Merah) and Sabah (Tanjung Aru beach) on Sunday.

The organisers have urged participants to don green clothing and have followed in the footsteps of Bersih 2.0 in suggesting that green be worn every Sunday hereon. http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/2012/02/22/lynas-devil-waiting-at-every-doorstep/

February 25, 2012 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | General News