Antinuclear

Lynas rare earths plant has become a big political issue in Malaysia

rare earth processing facility developed in 1985 by Mitsubishi Chemical at Bukit Merah n northern Perak state near the city of Ipoh that turned into an environmental disaster. The facility was closed in 1992 amid allegations that it was causing widespread groundwater and other environmental contamination and was responsible for deaths from leukemia as well as birth defects in children living nearby.

protesters say the company still doesn’t have a credible waste and water management plan and that radioactive materials could leach into both the groundwater, as they did at Bukit Merah, as well as into the South China Sea. ...

Malaysia and the Global Rare Earth Squabble, Asia Sentinel, 14 March 12,   “…..Other nations have largely ceased production of the rare earth minerals because of the detrimental effect mining and processing them has had on the environment.

China has belatedly caught up with western sentiment after realizing that substandard mining practices have resulted in environmental catastrophes and has cut back on production, driving prices through the roof…..
Lynas’s plan is to mine the minerals at Mount Weld, a site 100 km east
of Freemantle, Australia, ship them to Malaysia and process them in
the plant in Gebing, near the city of Kuantan in the state of Pahang.
From there the extracted rare earth materials are to be shipped to
Japan, Europe and the United States, which are all crying out for the
materials in the wake of China’s action.

But the plan, backed by the government, has come under implacable
resistance from Malaysia’s three-party Pakatan Rakyat opposition,
which it regards as a potent campaign issue, whatever the merits. The
attempt to stop the plant from opening has become one of the biggest
issues between the Barisan Nasional, or ruling national coalition, and
the opposition in an election that is expected to get underway soon,
perhaps in May or June, according to insiders in the United Malays
National Organization.

Because of the emotive nature of the environmental issues, and because
the atmosphere is becoming heated over the election, it is guaranteed
not to go away. Critics want the government to halt its construction
and direct the Atomic Energy Licensing Board (AELB) to reverse a
decision to grant Lynas a temporary operating license for a two-year
trial run. One rally in Kuantan, 50 km from the plant, saw a turnout
of 15,000 protesters, called the largest and most diverse
environmental protest in Malaysian history…..
The opposition to the plant has taken on wider characteristics in
Malaysia’s often-fraught political atmosphere. For instance, it has
become entangled with the country’s “Peaceful Assembly Bill,” passed
by the Dewan Rakyat, or parliament last November. Prime Minister Najib
Tun Razak held up the bill as one of several reforms of the country’s
colonial era restrictions on the right of assembly and other issues.

However, the Malaysian Bar Council complained that the new law is
actually more restrictive than the previous law because it prohibits
street protests, the organization of assemblies by those under the age
of 21 and the participation of youths below the age of 15, and the
imposition of a flock of new restrictions on organizers.

Protesters have linked the two issues together, holding a series of
marches and rallies across the country, including one in Penang across
the country and well to the north in late February, in which violence
flared as pro-government factions attacked anti-Lynas activists,
throwing stones and other missiles and shouting abuse.

The protesters have been given an emotive issue in the form of a
mid-1980s rare earth processing facility developed in 1985 by
Mitsubishi Chemical at Bukit Merah n northern Perak state near the
city of Ipoh that turned into an environmental disaster. The facility was closed in 1992 amid allegations that it was causing widespread groundwater and other environmental contamination and was responsible for deaths from leukemia as well as birth defects in children living nearby.

The Bukit Merah site, 20 years later, remains one of Asia’s largest
radioactive waste cleanup sites despite the fact that Mitsubishi has
owned up to the pollution and poured an estimated US$100 million into
the cleanup. ….
Lynas has so far met stringent requirements both on the part of the
government and the International Atomic Energy Agency although
protesters say the company still doesn’t have a credible waste and water management plan and that radioactive materials could leach into both the groundwater, as they did at Bukit Merah, as well as into the South China Sea. …
http://www.asiasentinel.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4331&Itemid=164

March 15, 2012 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, politics international