Medical Association of Malaysia says No to Lynas’ radioactive wastes
Then there is the uranium-laced REE ore to be imported from Lynas Malawi mines.To all this the Medical Assn. of Malaysia has said NO WAY. NO environmental nor health studies were done. Our team have all dumped all their Lynas shares
by ThomasT | June 13, 2011 The thorium laced ore safe transport is safe, until there is an accident. Accidents happen. Chernobyl, Fukushima, 3 Mile Island, USA, Sellafield UK, Brazil, Germany, France etc. Storage of waste ores is not discussed here. Malaysian Govt said only temporary on-site storage. Lynas said no, permanently on site. Does Lynas think it is running the M Govt. just because they may have paid-off a few Pahang State officials? Continue reading
Danger and deception in Lynas’ plan to leave radioactive wastes in Malaysia
The United Nations International Atomic Energy Agency, IAEA, experts will evaluate this plant, BUT only for radiation, and that, during normal operations! They are the same experts who declared Fukushima safe, even with NO protective wall around the cooling pumps.
The Lynas chairman Nicholas Curtis claims that they have permission from the government to store the waste onsite forever. On the other hand, AELB’s (Atomic Energy Licensing Board) director general Raja Datuk Abdul Aziz Raja refutes that claim in saying that the plant can only store waste temporarily
Rigmarole : The Star Online: May 30, 2011 An Australian Co., Lynas, is building the REE refinery in Malaysia. However, that refinery can never be deemed as safe, because accidents happen. It is not only the thorium 232 radioactive alpha particles, those from the ores and the waste, that could accidentally be released into the air as dust, (lung cancer), and into water, (liver cancers etc.), but there is the possiblility of accidental release of highly toxic gases that are REE refining by-products, such as fluorine, radon, (radio-active), and sulphur dioxide. Continue reading
China’s bad record on rare earths radioactive contamination
simonthongwh, 2 June “………, China has secured more than 95 per cent of the rare earths market. …..Though China denies 
exploiting its market position, it has created stockpiles, is seeking overseas involvement in companies such as Lynas and operates an export quota system, comparable to that used by the OPEC oil cartel…….
though abundant in the Earth’s crust, extracting earths individually from a ”cocktail” of earths within ores, sands and clays is – at any price – ”a difficult, time-consuming, costly and dirty business”.
Until recently, at least, China’s pre-eminence in the business has been built on cheap labour and, according to critics, minimal health, safety and environmental precautions. China has now moved to impose stricter standards, and cracked down on illegal mining and smuggling, but the social, health and environmental legacy of existing projects is horrific.
Malaysian community want INDEPENDENT assessment of Lynas rare earths plant
ome of the points brought up were to force the government to do a DEIA 
(detailed environmental impact assessment) by a completely independent body…
. right now the main priority was to stop Lynas from operating in September.“This is the most important time, from now until the end of June. Once they receive their license, trying to stop them will take years,”
All out effort to stop Lynas rare earth plant Free Malaysia Today Tashny Sukumaran | May 30, 2011 Residents and environment groups have hammered together a six-point plan to stop construction of the plant. KUANTAN: Residents and anti-Lynas groups are making a concerted effort to stop the RM700 million rare earth plant in Gebeng, Pahang. Continue reading
Australian company faces Malaysian opposition to radioactive waste dumping
crucial questions remain unanswered especially regarding the safe disposal of radioactive waste…… officials from the nuclear watchdog would be pro-nuclear and therefore fail to produce a fair assessment of the Lynas plant.
Calls for local and environmental groups to be represented in the monitoring team have also gone unheeded…’Whatever their findings, our final agenda – which is our ultimate goal – is to stop Lynas.’..
Malaysia’s new rare earth plant provokes radiation fears – Monsters and Critics, By Julia Yeow May 29, 2011, Kuala Lumpur – In the quiet town of Gebeng in Malaysia’s central state of Pahang, a new rare earth plant has evoked fears of radiation contamination as residents desperately seek to stop the construction of the world’s largest such refinery. Continue reading
Australian govt silent on Lynas dumping radioactive waste in Malaysia
“Mitsubishi took advantage of the non-existence of authorities checking licencing facilities of this nature in Malaysia,” …… “Lynas has a similar modus operandi. It would not be cost-effective to produce in Australia, and more importantly there is lax enforcement in Malaysia and so Lynas is able to operate here…..”The Australian government is silent knowing full well that the rare earth ore will be brought from Mount Weld in Australia to be processed in Gebeng and the finished products will be exported overseas while the radioactive waste dumped in Gebeng,”
Down To Rare Earths Newmatilda.com, 20 May 11, “………Why are the residents so concerned? The process of rare earth refinery has radioactive by-products, including thorium — which is why Lynas can’t process the mineral closer to the mine in Australia. Residents are concerned about the cost to the environment and to the health of citizens of dumping huge amounts of radioactive waste. Continue reading
Malaysian protest – Lynas, take back your radioactive wastes to Australia
300 Malaysians protest plant on radiation fears TODAYonline May 20, 2011, KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) – About 300 Malaysians have staged a peaceful protest against plans for an Australian-built rare earth refinery amid fears of radioactive pollution.The plant being built by Australian miner Lynas in eastern Malaysia ………..Protesters including opposition lawmakers marched Friday from Kuala Lumpur’s Petronas Twin Towers to a street near the Australian High Commission. Some carried banners that read “Go back to Australia” and “Malaysia not a radioactive waste dump site.”…..TODAYonline | Business | 300 Malaysians protest plant on radiation fears
Malaysian Protest Against Australian Company Lynas Dumping Radioactive Waste There
.……..lower environmental standards in Malaysia and double standards from Lynas.
SALLEH: I’m very concerned that Lynas is taking advantage of the loopholes in our laws, and does not implement, what it’s supposed to implement in Australia, but use a different standard here in Malaysia…..the authorities have issued a licence to Ashton rare earth, [in Australia] prior to Lynas acquiring it. And I had a copy of that approval and then, I saw, how stringent they are……
SINGH: If it’s reasonably that good, why don’t they do the processing within Australia, why send it to Malaysia? it is a classic example of a polluting industry being exported to a developing country………
Demonstrators are planning to rally outside the Australian Embassy in Malaysia’s capital Kuala Lumpor on Friday. May 19, 2011, Radio Australia may 18 2011
They’ll be protesting against the Australian mining company Lynas and its plans to process rare earths in Pahang state. Local communities and environmental groups have raised concerns over the management of radioactive waste. They say the waste product thorium will affect fishing, tourism and public health .. while the Malaysian government has also asked for more information. Continue reading
China’s scandalous record on nuclear power and civil liberties
It is scandalous that Ziggy Switkowski is touting China as a great leader in nuclear power. All this while knowing how very dangerous is the nuclear industry, and how China is both excessively secretive and tramples on dissent and curtail civil liberties.
Nuclear issues are one area of significant environmental concern in China and occupied territories such as Tibet and East Turkestan. Considerable ecological damage caused by nuclear production, and uranium mining and the disposal of radioactive waste within China and the occupied territories of Tibet and East Turkestan……… – Christina Macpherson
“…..it has been reported that secret nuclear testing has also been going on with grave effects on the health of the people in the surrounding areas. An investigative report by London’s newspaper, The Independent, revealed that the areas surrounding the Lop Nor nuclear test site—on the eastern edge of the Taklamakan Desert—have a cancer rate that is 35 percent higher than the rest of China and higher than average rates of Leukemia, tumors, and birth defects such as cleft palates. …….A UK television documentary ‘Death on The Silk Road’ (Channel Four 1998) secretly filmed inside East Turkestan documented a range of illnesses linked to radiation exposure…………Greenpeace Ignores Tibet’s Nuclear Poisoning « Tibettruth
“………………Sun Xiaodi, in Gansu province, complained for years about pollution from a uranium mine and recently accused local officials of fraud. In July he was sentenced to two years in a labor-reform facility for “illegally providing state secrets overseas” and “rumor-mongering.” His daughter Sun Haiyan was sentenced to 18 months on the same charges………” Zhang Zuhua and Jiang Qisheng — To help fix the climate, fix human rights in China – washingtonpost.com
Australian MP calls for ban on Lynas dumping radioactive wastes in Malaysia
“I also call upon the Transport Minister (Troy Buswell) to halt planned shipments of rare earth with radioactive Thorium 232 to Malaysia,”
Aussie MP: Don’t dump toxic by-products in Kuantan, Free Malaysia Today, G Vinod | May 18, 2011 An Australian MP has joined the chorus of calls to halt planned shipment of radioactive waste to Malaysia.
Namibia: it’s getting harder for Australian uranium miners to exploit the Namibians
| Second mining expo to be held amid fears of ‘nationalisation’ |  |
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| Namicia Economist, by Nyasha Francis Nyaungwa | ||||||
| , 13 MAY 2011 09:41 | ||||||
| The 2011 Mining Expo which kicks off next week in the capital is being held at a time when the mining sector faces uncertainty after government recently declared uranium, copper, coal, diamonds and rare earth metals as strategic minerals. Last month, government through cabinet endorsed a decision that the right to own licenses for strategic minerals will only be issued to a state company. The dramatic shift in policy has caught many investors and would-be investors unaware …..“….the mining sector’s contribution to government revenue is not commensurate with its share to the gross domestic product. Such contribution is mainly through royalties levied on the market value of the minerals. This means that Namibia benefits from its natural endowment mainly through rent-seeking. This situation is untenable” the minister said……http://www.economist.com.na/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=23739:second-mining-expo-to-be-held-amid-fears-of-nationalisation&catid=588:special-focus&Itemid=70
President of the Mineworkers Union of Namibia (MUN), John Ndeutepo, says that in order to create a conducive labour environment for workers in the mining sector, there is a need for a paradigm shift…. companies try by all means to prevent its employees from being organised. Some even deny them their rights to freedom of association. It is a proven fact that one cannot make people work any longer; you will need to motivate workers in order for them to perform,” Ndeutepo added.He said that the mining labour sector is faced with great challenges that calls for urgent change. One such challenge is the ability of unions to address labour issues involving contract and agency labour cases. |
Some multi national companies do not even bother to monitor adherence especially when it comes to contractors and they even end up corrupting compliance officials,” he said.
Ndeutepo also called for the recognition of unions in the sector. He said that a lot of companies cannot yet get any returns from this relationship as they view the union as an enemy.—http://www.economist.com.na/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=23738%3Aunion-calls-for-a-paradigm-shift-within-the-mining-industry&catid=588%3Aspecial-focus&Itemid=70
USA – Australia deal for developing nuclear power
U.S.-Australia civilian nuclear cooperation: issues for congress, Australian Policy Online, Mary Beth Nikitin, Bruce Vaughn 2 May 11, READ THE FULL TEXT
| U.S.-Australia civilian nuclear cooperation: issues for congress |
On 2 December 2010 a new US-Australia Civilian Nuclear Cooperation Agreement entered into force, …
This report, written by the Congressional Research Service states, ‘The agreement permits the export, subject to licensing, of information, material, equipment, and components for nuclear research and nuclear power production. .http://www.apo.org.au/research/us-australia-civilian-nuclear-cooperation-issues-congres
IAEA to help Australian company to leave radioactive wastes in Malaysia?
growing public pressure to scrap the plant as environmental activists say it could make Malaysia a dumping ground for radioactive by-products
IAEA panel to advise Malaysia on rare earths plant. Reuters May 3, 2011 VIENNA – The U.N. nuclear agency will organise an expert panel to advise the government of Malaysia on the potential radiation risks of a rare earths facility planned by Australian miner Lynas , the agency said on Tuesday. Continue reading
Australian company Lynas wants Malaysia to take its radioactive wastes
Alarm bells were raised when a report in April questioned how Lynas was going to dispose the waste material from the plant ……
there are questions as to why Lynas did not build the plant in Australia instead if it did not pose any danger to the environment and the people?
Baffling Perak can think of 2nd rare earth project when Japan radiation still fresh, The Star (Malaysia) – By B.K. Sidhu 29 April 11, IT is baffling that Perak can even think of accommodating a second rare earth project when the horrors of radiation in Japan are still fresh on the people’s minds and there was a major disaster involving a rare earth plant in the state just a decade ago. Continue reading
Australian uranium mining shares tumble as Namibia wakes up to foreigners’ exploitation
comments Minister of Mines and Energy Isak Katali made in parliament last week about the Namibian people deserving to benefit more from the country’s resources have set some investors’ nerves on edge.
Extract Resources shares drop onNamibia government plan, Apr 28,2011 MELBOURNE (Reuters)…http://af.reuters.com/article/investingNews/idAFJOE73R06E20110428
Namibia nationalisation anxiety knocks uranium miners TORONTO (miningweekly.com) 29 April 11, – Uranium miner Paladin Energy moved to calm investors after its shares tumbled 7,4% on the TSX over reports that Namibia’s state-owned mining company wanted to claim all uranium mining rights, as well as other “strategic” materials… Continue reading
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