Apologize Over Lynas

KUANTAN - The Pahang National Agenda Federation of non-governmental organisations (Daun) wants Kuantan member of parliament Fuziah Salleh and the anti-Lynas group to apologise for making allegations against the company.

Daun coordinator Wan Emril Nizam said the open apology should be addressed to all Malaysians, especially residents of Kuantan, for giving the wrong facts about the plant.

"Fuziah and the anti-Lynas group had created fear among Malaysians and Kuantan residents on the construction of the plant."

Yesterday, Free Malaysia Today, on its website www.freemalaysiatoday.com, said MToday News Sdn Bhd apologised for articles saying that Lynas plant might be unsafe to the public.

Lynas Corporation Limited received bad publicity from various parties, especially opposition parties which politicised the construction of the plant.

"We demand an apology like Free Malaysia Today, which admitted its mistakes by giving the wrong information with no scientific basis.

"Daun received feedback from the people that they are tired of lies and gimmick by the anti-Lynas group, dominated by those supporting the DAP," said the senior law lecturer of Kolej Islam Pahang Sultan Ahmad Shah (Kipsas). Bernama

Read more: Facebook Comments - Learning Curve - New Straits Times http://www.nst.com.my/channels/learning-curve/apologise-over-lynas-1.109623/facebook-comments-7.156208#ixzz21rUrmBcU

Lynas Withdraw Defamation Suit Against FMT

KUALA LUMPUR: A defamation suit between Lynas and an online news portal, Free Malaysia Today (FMT), is settled.

Lynas Corporation Limited of Sydney, Australia, and Lynas Malaysia Sdn Bhd yesterday withdrew their suit against operator of FMT, Mtoday News Sdn Bhd, after the news portal published an apology last week.

Counsel Rueben Mathiavaranam who acted for FMT told reporters that Lynas withdrew the suit as part of the settlement and FMT had also given an undertaking not to further publish anti-Lynas statement on its website.

"Among other terms are no damages to be payable and the three articles to be removed from the website," he added.

High Court judge Datuk Nor Bee Ariffin recorded the terms of settlement in chambers yesterday and made no order as to costs.

Lynas was represented by counsel Rishwant Singh.

FMT had on July 17 apologised over its reports that the Lynas rare earth plant may be unsafe.

In a one-paragraph statement on its website, FMT had said: "We refer to the articles previously published by us which claim that the Lynas plant may be unsafe. 

We apologise for these publications as such claims do not have a scientific basis. The regulatory review of the Lynas plant has been thorough and diligent."

In the suit filed on April 19, Lynas had claimed that FMT had published an article on March 6 which allegedly defamed them.

Read more: Lynas-FMT defamation suit settled - Latest - New Straits Times http://www.nst.com.my/latest/lynas-fmt-defamation-suit-settled-1.113639#ixzz21rTIzzlL

A Letter Of Truth By Nick Tsurikov

Dear Madam,

This letter relates to your interview with TV PAS, Mr Gilbert Almeida, on 29th of July 2011, and provides a follow up to comments that I posted on YouTube within days of its broadcast.

Firstly, I would like to state upfront that I am not an employee of Lynas Corporation; however I have been independently advising Lynas on the management of radiation protection issues for some time.

I provide this kind of technical advisory service to a large number of mining and mineral processing companies, national and international organisations and government departments around the world.

With all due respect, I find many of your technical comments in the abovementioned interview to be fundamentally flawed and inaccurate.

In addition, I consider several statements made by Mr Almeida, with which you appear to agree, as ill-informed and offensive.

I refer particularly to comments such as Australia exporting ‘radioactive death’ and that some people (presumably associated with Lynas) should be tried for ‘crimes against humanity’.

On radiation protection issues, I believe that as a Member of the Malaysian Parliament, you would not intentionally seek to mislead the people of Kuantan.

I therefore assume that you have been poorly and inadequately advised on the issues of rare earth processing, and I provide the following comments to specifically address the seven issues you highlight in the interview.

ISSUE 1: BEST PRACTICE GUIDELINES

The very first finding of the IAEA mission to review the Lynas Advanced Materials Plant is that “the review team was not able to identify any non-compliance with international radiation safety standards”.

These same standards are applicable to the treatment of radioactive ores – uranium, tin, titanium, phosphate, rare earths, zirconium, tantalum, niobium, etc.

The list of seventeen international (IAEA) documents that are applicable is provided on pages 8-9 of the IAEA Report.

Therefore, your comment that there are no benchmarks or best practice guidelines is incorrect and invalid.

ISSUE 2: ALLEGED USE OF THE STANDARDS OF THE PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA BY LYNAS

You state that “I have the evidence that Lynas is going to use China standards”. This allegation is quite extraordinary, as no document from Lynas or the IAEA has ever mentioned the use of standards other than Malaysian, Australian or International standards.

If you do have such evidence, it would be appreciated if you would make it public.

Until then, your statement cannot be taken seriously. It is clearly nothing more than an unproven and unjustified assertion.

ISSUE 3: THE DISTANCE BETWEEN RARE EARTH OPERATIONS AND RESIDENTIAL AREAS

The statement that “in Australia even to extract the rare earth elements it is mandatory for the operations to be located 35 km from residential areas” is a fabrication.

There is no law, regulation or even a guideline anywhere in Australia containing this requirement. Even the research nuclear reactor at Lucas Heights on the outskirts of

metropolitan Sydney, is located within two to three kilometres of residential areas.

Your have obviously been misled. Your statement is incorrect.

ISSUE 4: DISCUSSION AND EXPLANATION OF RADIOACTIVITY CONCENTRATIONS

It seems to me that your technical advisers are confusing numbers and different methods for calculating specific activity of materials.

There are two ways of calculating this value: the out-dated method of using ‘total’ activity, versus the current standard that uses concentration of a ‘parent’ radio-isotope.

This international standard has been in use since 1997-1998.

On this basis, if a material contains 400 parts per million of thorium – its specific activity is calculated as follows:

a) Outdated method – 400 x 4.09 (specific activity of Th-232) x 10 (number of radio nuclides in the thorium decay chain) = 16,360 Bq/kg, or 16.4 Bq/g

b) International standard (IAEA, AELB and Australia) – 400 x 4.09 = 1,630 Bq/kg, or 1.64 Bq/g.

The internationally accepted standard for the material to be considered for regulation is 1 Bq/g.

However, if the specific radioactivity of the material reaches or exceeds the value of 1 Bq/g, it does not necessarily mean that material is regulated and/or should be classified as ‘radioactive’.

There is a provision in the IAEA document RS-G-1.7 that the value may be up to 10 Bq/g and material may still be exempted from regulations when certain provisions are met.

Either someone misinformed you, or you have misunderstood the situation.

The Lynas Water Leach Product (WLP) at 6.1 Bq/g is, of course, classified as a ‘radioactive material’.

To the best of my knowledge, there are no documents where it was claimed that the Lynas residue is “under the Chinese standard” and therefore “can be disposed as any other waste”.

Your comment is incorrect. If, as you claim, Lynas is saying that the waste is not radioactive, then why did Lynas develop the radiation impact assessment for approval by AELB in 2007?

ISSUE 5: ABOUT THE DANGERS OF THE LYNAS RAW MATERIAL

It appears that you have again been misinformed - this time with regards to the processing of the Lynas ore. The ore is crushed in Western Australia, prior to being processed at the concentration plant, also located in Western Australia.

The material will then be transported in the form of a wet paste inside double-layered plastic bags, which will be sealed and placed into sea containers.

Therefore, your comment about the danger of dry dust particles is alarmist and misleading.

It also appears you may have misunderstood the danger of different types of radiation.

Contrary to your statement that “alpha is not as dangerous as gamma”, there is only one scientific opinion about ‘radiation weighting factors’ and that is that alpha radiation is actually twenty times more dangerous than gamma radiation.

ISSUE 6: CONCERNING THE POSSIBILITY OF URANIUM ESCAPING INTO WATER AND INTO THE SEA

I feel compelled to point out that your comments on the risk of uranium escaping into water are so outlandish that I would like, once again, to question the competence of your technical advisers.

It is clearly stated in the RIA that any water discharged will not exceed the standard specified by AELB of 1 Bq/L.

The most environmentally mobile, and thus potentially dangerous radioactive element is not uranium but radium, and by a considerable margin. Without detailed quoting:

*The limits set by AELB are within the range of concentrations allowed in the drinking water by both the Australian Government and the World Health Organisation (0.1 – 1.0 Bq/L);

*The limits are significantly below the natural concentration of radionuclides in drinking water in some areas of the world, as reported by United Nations Scientific Committee onthe Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR) in its 2000 Report.

Effectively, you are claiming that if someone brings to Kuantan one tanker per year of the drinking water from certain locations in Finland (up to 150 Bq/L of uranium and 49 Bq/L of radium) or Switzerland (around 1 Bq/L of uranium and up to 1.5 Bq/L of radium) and pours it into the river near Kuantan, the fishing industry of all South-East Asia would be destroyed?

As I presented to the International Symposium on Naturally Occurring Radioactive Material in Spain in 2007, phosphate fertilisers commonly used in agriculture normally containbetween 50 and 500 Bq/kg of uranium, with the highest value being over 2000 Bq/kg. So, if we are to follow your logic, then a ship carrying phosphate fertiliser that loses its cargo near Kuantan would completely decimate the fishing industry due to extremely high radiation levels.

Your comment on the possible destruction of the fishing industry in South-East Asia is wide off the mark and I do not believe that you, as a Member of the Malaysian Parliament, would mislead people this way. I therefore suggest that and your technical advisers re-examine data to the utmost detail prior to repeating this kind of extreme and alarmist comment in public.

ISSUE 7 – ON RADIOACTIVE WASTE

I wish to draw to your attention that numerous industries within Malaysia, and around the world, generate radioactive waste. And if your comments are to be taken seriously, by shutting down industries that produce radioactive waste, a vast array of products, goods and services would no longer be available to society.

These include:

* Hybrid cars, energy-saving light bulbs, mobile phones, electricity-generating wind turbines, and almost all electronic and computer equipment

* Petrol and diesel fuel, all other mineral oils and natural gas

* Airplanes, space vehicles, white pigments, toothpaste

* Phosphate fertilisers for agriculture

* Ceramic tiles, porcelain

* Electricity generated by burning coal or geo-thermal sources

* products made from or with an addition of iron, copper, tin, aluminium, zinc, lead, tantalum, etc

* Clean drinking water produced from water treatment.

I am confident that you are “not against progress”; however, in following your own logic, the oil and gas industry in Malaysia should be shut down and people should be banned from using phosphate fertilisers, living in houses with ceramic tiles, driving cars, flying on airplanes, and using any kind of electronic equipment.

This is no exaggeration - simply an extension of your own logic.

As an expert in radiation protection, I would welcome the opportunity to provide you and your technical advisory team with any additional information and clarification you require.

I would also welcome an opportunity to discuss all radiation related issues in an open forum, without any pre-conditions. I am not an employee of Lynas Corporation and do not need to seek any approval to participate in such a discussion.

I am absolutely confident that a frank and open discussion about radiation-related issues surrounding not only the Lynas plant in Kuantan, but also in general terms, will be beneficial for everyone.

If you have any interest, please let me know and I will try to include a stopover in Kuala Lumpur into my schedule in the next few months.

Yours sincerely,

Kind regards

Nick Tsurikov

Calytrix Consulting Pty Ltd

Perth, Western Australia

4th August, 2011

MP Misleading The People - Nick Tsurikov

We admit that we are no expert in radiation. But Mr Nick Tsurikov is. He is a consultant with Calytrix Consulting Pty Ltd, based in Western Australia.

He sent Kuantan MP Fuziah Salleh an open letter, in response to an interview she gave TV Pas with Gilbert Almeida on July 29 with regards to the Lynas rare earth processing plant project in Gebeng, Pahang.

The plant will process ore from its Mount Weld mine to produce rare earth products essential for making hi-tech gadgets.

Tsurikov said Fuziah was misleading her constituents with flawed and inaccurate technical comments on the proposed Lynas rare earth plant.

"I consider several statements made by Almeida that you (Fuziah) appear to agree with, such as 'Australia exporting radioactive earth' and that some people (presumably associated with Lynas) should be tried for crimes against humanity, as ill-informed and offensive."

Tsurikov said: "On radiation protection issues, I believe that as a member of the Malaysian Parliament, you would not intentionally seek to mislead the people of Kuantan.

"I, therefore, assume that you have been poorly and inadequately advised on the issues of rare earth processing."

DAUN Desak MP Dan Anti Lynas Mohon Maaf

KUANTAN - Gabungan Badan-badan bukan kerajaan Pahang Mendokong Agenda Nasional (DAUN) hari ini mendesak Anggota Parlimen Kuantan dari Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) Fuziah Salleh dan kumpulan anti Lynas supaya memohon maaf secara terbuka berhubung pelbagai dakwaan buruk terhadap syarikat berkenaan sebelum ini.

Menurut Penyelaras DAUN Wan Emril Nizam, permohonan maaf itu juga perlu dibuat secara terbuka kepada seluruh rakyat Malaysia khususnya penduduk Kuantan berikutan tindakan mereka memberikan fakta salah dan melemparkan pelbagai dakwaan buruk berhubung pembinaan kilang itu.

"Tindakan Fuziah dan kumpulan anti Lynas selama ini ialah memburuk-burukkan kilang berkenaan serta mewujudkan rasa takut di kalangan rakyat terutamanya penduduk Kuantan berhubung pembinaan kilang itu," katanya kepada Bernama di sini, Rabu.

Semalam, Free Malaysia Today, di laman webnya, www.freemalaysiatoday.com, Mtoday News Sdn Bhd memohon maaf terhadap artikel-artikel yang diterbitkannya sebelum ini yang mendakwa kilang Lynas mungkin tidak selamat untuk orang ramai.

Lynas Corporation Limited, telah menerima publisiti buruk selama lebih setahun dari pelbagai pihak terutamanya parti pembangkang yang dilihat mempolitikkan isu pembinaan kilang itu.

MP Resorting To Lies or Distortion

A friend wrote this to me:

Fuziah got caught lying again to the Malaysian public - please read:

I’m posting a repeat of my March 2012 email exchange with Molycorp (which Lynas is very welcome to use in court)…“Dear Molycorp Mountain Pass CaliforniaMay I ask you to verify the accuracy of the following statement, please?

Quote, "Molycorps in its documents has announced that it will have zero liquid discharge and all solid waste will be buried underground in concrete bunkers lined with lead walls." End Quote.

What document contains that information, 

if I may ask?

Specifically and more importantly, what is the reason your refinement of rare earth elements prompted you to bury the waste in lead lined concrete bunkers? Thank you for your efforts to answer these important questions.

MOLYCORP’S RESPONSE: “May I then ask you where you happen to pull such quote?” 

Regards,

Brian Blackman Sr.

Manager, Investor Relations

5619 DTC Pkwy, Suite 1000

Greenwood Village, CO 80111

My response: 

Dear Molycorp, The statement was made on 3-7-12 by Member of Parliament Fuziah Salleh representing Kuantan, Malaysia. I include her comments and the website of the news organization which carried her comments, Free Malaysia Today. I look forward to your response regarding questions of my earlier email. The quote is from near the end of her comments. Any clarity or comment you may have on Molycorp’s need for lead lined concrete bunkers to store refinery waste at Mountain Pass is greatly appreciated. Thank You!

http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/2012/03/07/lynas-has-fooled-us-all/“LAMP must NOT be allowed to operate anywhere in Malaysia.” By Fuziah Salleh

Article Quote…“Malaysia must study how Lynas’ competitor, Molycorps, soon to be in operation in 2013, plans to manage its radioactive waste. Molycorps in its documents has announced that it will have zero liquid discharge and all solid waste will be buried underground in concrete bunkers lined with lead walls. (Molycorps ores from Mount Pass in California have less thorium and uranium contents than Lynas’s Mount Weld ores.)

Lynas has made a mockery of Malaysian laws and has fooled the Najib administration. It has also made the ministers look so incompetent when these ministers were caught just repeating what Lynas tells them without having a clear understanding of Lynas’ misleading plans.” End Quote of Fuziah Salleh.

MOLYCORP RESPONSE: 

“Thank you for providing the article. We are adopting a paste tailings process for our tailings not steel drums. You can find more information here (Molycorp website)Not exactly sure where they sourced their information.”

Regards,

Brian Blackman

Sr. Manager, Investor Relations

5619 DTC Pkwy, Suite 1000

Greenwood Village, CO 80111

End of email exchange

My conclusion is that Fuziah Salleh could have gone to the Molycorp website, viewed their disposal facilities and clearly seen how libelous her comments about Lynas would be.

Did she "lied" or was she making irresponsible statements again about the existence of Molycorp documents stating waste would be stored in lead-lined concrete bunkers.

Hakikat Bila Menegakkan Kebenaran

Sebelum ini, tidak ada sesiapa pun yang berani tampil untuk memberikan fakta berkaitan dengan isu pembinaan Kilang Lynas dari kalangan Pakar.


Kebanyakan pihak hanya menumpukan kepada kenyataan yang pernah dikeluarkan oleh Ahli Parlimen Hulu Langat, Dr. Che Rosli Che Mat yang juga merupakan seorang pakar Nuklear.


Walaubagaimana pun, kenyataan tersebut hanya dilihat dari sudut Politik dan bukannya berlandaskan kepada fakta sebenar.


Maka tidak hairanlah jika sejak kebelakangan ini, Dr. Che Rosli mula dilihat lebih berhati - hati dalam menyatakan kebenaran kerana khuatir kedudukannya dalam Politik akan terjejas.


Oleh yang demikian, pelbagai pihak menggesa agar pakar - pakar Bebas tampil memberikan maklum balas mengenai isu yang berbangkit ini demi mencari Kebenaran.


Namun malangnya, tidak ada seorang pun dikalangan mereka yang Berani tampil kecuali Dr Looi Hoong Wah, seorang pakar Radiologi lulusan FAMM, MB., ChB(Manchester), MRCS(England), MRCP(UK) MRCP(London).


Dalam kenyataan beliau sebelum ini, jelas dinyatakan bahawa beliau kecewa dengan sikap gerakan Anti Lynas yang sengaja memutarbelitkan fakta demi untuk kepentingan individu tertentu.


Atas dasar itulah, beliau terpanggil untuk memberikan penerangan secara PERCUMA kepada mana - mana pihak yang sudi mendengar mengenai pendedahan yang hendak dilakukan.


Beliau juga sedar kesan dan akibatnya apabila beliau membuat keputusan tersebut dimana beliau akan dikutuk dan dihina oleh penyokong gerakan Anti Lynas yang terdiri dari kalangan mereka yang sebangsa dengannya.

Antara kata - kata kesat yang dilemparkan kepada Dr. Looi

Inilah pengorbanan seorang ahli akademik yang tidak mempunyai apa - apa agenda dalam Politik. Jauh sekali beliau mempunyai kepentingan dalam syarikat nadir bumi tersebut. 


Beliau hanya menjalankan tanggungjawab untuk menjelaskan kekusutan yang ditimbulkan oleh gerakan Anti Lynas.


Sesuai jika perumpamaan Melayu diberikan kepada beliau dimana beliau Berani Kerana Benar dan Takut Kerana Salah.


Komentar yang diberikan oleh penyokong Gerakan Anti Lynas dalam laman sosial Facebook Daun memberikan kita gambaran jelas bahawa gerakan tersebut sebenarnya hanya bermain dengan emosi dan bukan dengan fakta.


Lihat sahaja beberapa komen yang diberikan. Jelas, mereka memberi gelaran yang bukan - bukan terhadap Dr. Looi. Tidakkah itu menjadi bukti bahawa mereka ini sebenarnya mengikut rasa hati dan bukannya mahu menerima kebenaran? Tepuk dada, tanya selera.

Lihat Komentar selebihnya disini

DAUN Want An Apologies From Anti Lynas Group

Kuantan: The Pahang National Agenda Federation of non-governmental organisations (Daun) wants Kuantan Member of Parliament, Fuziah Salleh and the anti-Lynas group to apologise for making allegations against the company.

Daun cordinator Wan Emril Nizam said the open apology should be addressed to all Malaysians, especially residents of Kuantan, for giving the wrong facts about the plant.

"Fuziah and the anti-Lynas group had created fear among Malaysians and Kuantan residents on the construction of the plant," he told Bernama here today.

Yesterday, Free Malaysia Today on its website www.freemalaysiatoday.com said Mtoday News Sdn Bhd apologised for articles that Lynas plant might be unsafe to the public.

Lynas Corporation Limited received bad publicity from various parties, especially opposition parties which politicised the construction of the plant.     -

"We demand an apology like Free Malaysia Today which admitted its mistakes (articles) by giving the wrong facts with no scientific basis.

"Daun received feedback from the people that they are tired of lies and gimmick by the anti-Lynas group dominated by Chinese supporting the DAP," said the senior law lecturer of Kolej Islam Pahang Sultan Ahmad Shah (Kipsas).

On June 25, the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) on Lynas in its report to parliament recommended that a temporary operating licence (TOL) be issued to enable the Lynas plant to operate.

The report said that the rare earth plant can process raw materials in stages, limited, and monitored continuously by enforcement agencies.

Dr. Looi Q & A - Part 1

Anti- Lynas QUOTE:

Potassium-40, when absorbed, is distributed more uniformly throughout the human body, mostly in muscle tissue which is among the least radio-sensitive of the body’s tissues, Thorium entering the bloodstream localises to the bones where it is retained with a biological half-life of 22 years

ANSWER:

When Potassium is taken into the body it is not just concentrated in the muscles but concentrated in the INTRACELLULAR spaces of ALL CELLS where the cancer sensitive chromosomes are located!

So to say that Potassium concentration is less in the radiosensitive cells of the blood, lymphoid tissues, testis, ovaries and intestine is definitely not in line with basic human physiology.

It is concentrated and equally distributed in ALL INTRACELLULAR SPACES . In terms of per cell mass, it may be slightly less only in fat cells.

Intracellular Potassium = 139 to 140 mEq 

Extracellular Potassium = 4 mEq which is tiny compared with the Intracellular Potassium.

Thorium-232 stays mainly in the extracellular space where it is not so harmful.

Practically all the data on the acute and long term toxicology of Thorium-232 comes from the study of Thorotrast.

Most of the human data for thorium exposure comes from diagnostic studies. A massive dose of 1 to 2 vials of 25 ml of 25% Colloidal thorium-232 dioxide (Thorotrast) was injected into patients as a radiographic contrast medium between 1928 and 1955. 

Thorium dioxide in Thorotrast is insoluble and in a colloidal form i.e. in the form of particles. All insoluble particles are taken up by the macrophages and other cells of the reticulo-endothelial (RE) system and deposited into the tissues of the RE system i.e. the liver, spleen, lymph nodes, bone marrow and parts of the small intestines and not just the bones.

In humans, where will the soluble and not particulate form of Thorium salts be deposited and what is the renal clearance and hence their biological half life ? Nobody really knows because, for obvious reasons, all studies done on Thorium are conducted on animals. The results are only applicable to rats, rabbits, cats and dogs !

In places like Kerala, a coastal belt in India, the concentration of Thorium-232 in the soil average about 4,000 ppm. 

The radiation at Karunagapally, Kerala has been assessed at 5 to 8 milisievert/year. In certain location on the coast, it is as high as 70 milisievert/year. 

Thorium-232 is strongly adsorbed to clay and there is no natural way it can get into the body. Even the plants and fruits do not contain any Thorium in these high Thorium areas.

The amount of Thorium in the human body is so tiny (estimated to be only 30 micrograms per body) that only extremely sophisticated equipments are able to measure the true level.

The epidemiological data from these studies show that the primary health effects of high doses of injected Thorotrast are blood disorders and liver tumours. However, these tumours and blood disorders could have been caused by the massive doses of X-rays from the rather antique X-ray machines used at that time.

Because these are contrast studies, more than 20 to 50 X-rays need to be taken and the dose is really massive. None of the studies have factored in this massive dose of X-rays as all the studies are done retrospectively.

Some evidence of increased incidence of lung, pancreatic, and haematopoietic cancers was found in workers occupationally exposed to thorium via inhalation.

However, these workers were also exposed to several other toxic agents especially Silica (SiO2) which is a group 1 carcinogen and in some cases to other radionuclides like Uranium, K-40 and Radium, so direct causation cannot be inferred. 

Inhalation of Thorium-232 by the general population like those living in the cities is practically impossible for the particles that can get into the lungs need to be between 1 to 5 microns. These tiny particles can only be found in the thorium or uranium mines or unsophisticated refineries. 

Few data are available regarding the health effects associated with low (e.g., environmental) levels of exposure from either inhalation or ingestion.

Dr Looi

Australia Approved That It Is All About Politics

They make your iPod work, your hybrid car run and keep the X-ray machine at the hospital humming. But few outside the mining industry know much about the group of metals collectively known as rare earths.

That may be about to change thanks to a hole in the ground 1000km north-east of Perth at the centre of a simmering environmental row.

In one corner is the Sydney mining company, Lynas Corp, whose Mt Weld rare earths mine near Laverton has been cleared by the WA Government's environmental and health watchdogs.

In the other are a handful of activist groups and Fremantle MP Adele Carles, who have raised concerns about radiation and whether rare earths are safe to be exported out of Fremantle. This weekend one of those groups, Save Malaysia, Stop Lynas, hopes to rally supporters at meetings in Perth, Sydney, Melbourne and Malaysia, where Lynas' rare earths concentrate will be sent for further processing.

Millions of dollars are at stake for investors in Lynas, a $1.5 billion company, and for WA in State royalties.

What nobody disputes is that Mt Weld is one of the world's richest sources of rare earths - the name given to 17 chemically similar elements used most commonly in the electronics industry. That makes it a potentially extremely lucrative mine because prices have rocketed.

Lynas has stockpiled rare earths at a storage facility in Bibra Lake ready for export. All it needs is a crucial licence to turn on its plant in Malaysia, where the project has become a political issue because of the country's chequered history with the industry.

Malaysia's last rare earths refinery at Bukit Merah was closed in the 1990s amid protests and claims it caused birth defects and leukaemia in nearby residents. But there are big differences between the material Lynas is mining and that used at Bukit Merah - most significantly much lower levels of thorium, which is the reason Lynas' raw material is classified non-toxic and non-hazardous.

Ms Carles waded into the argument recently by calling for radiation monitoring results from the Bibra Lake stockpiles to be made public. She has also suggested Lynas should export out of South Australia or the Northern Territory instead of Fremantle.

"I'm very concerned about many aspects of this proposal - the secrecy around it being one of my primary concerns," she said.

Lynas argues its plans have been scrutinised at both ends - in WA by the Department of Environment and the Department of Health and in Malaysia by the Malaysian Government and the International Atomic Energy Agency.

"Transporting concentrate from the Mt Weld mine site to Fremantle port, and on to Malaysia is safe and does not present a radiation risk to public health or the environment," a Lynas spokesman said. "Attempts to characterise it otherwise are either unintentionally or deliberately misleading.

"A person who spent several hours on a long-haul commercial airline flight or having a picnic near granite outcrops in the hills around Perth will receive a higher dose of radiation exposure than during the same time in the relative vicinity of the Lynas rare earths concentrate."

According to figures provided by Lynas, a worker exposed to Lynas' rare earths stockpiles for 300 hours a year - what the company said was a "worst possible case" - would have a maximum exposure to a radiation level of 190 microsieverts a year. The annual maximum recommended exposure limit is 1000 microsieverts for the public or 20,000 for workers.

Death Is 100% Guarantee

Ps: All religion believe in death and death is certain. It is not human decision to decide when, where and how one will meet his or her fate. But yet, it is 100% guaranteed!!!

QUESTION BY ANTI-LYNAS: "CAN YOU BE SURE THAT THE LYNAS PLANT IS 100% SAFE ?

AND AS FAR AS THE 100% BUSINESS IS CONCERNED, THE ONLY THING IN LIFE WHICH WE CAN BE A 100% SURE OF IS THE CEMETERY AND THE LAVATORY. IF WE HAVE TO GO, WE HAVE TO GO 100%.

The chance of dying one day is 100%. So do not worry yourself to death about it!

• Dying from heart disease -- 1 in 6 (lifetime risk) 

• Dying in an auto accident -- 1 in 75 (lifetime risk) 

• Committing suicide -- 1 in 71 (lifetime risk) 

• Being Murdered -- 1 in 140 (lifetime) 

- DYING FROM CANCER - 1 in 5 (lifetime risk)

• Being struck by lightning -- 1 in 10,456 (lifetime) 

• Seriously injuring yourself while shaving -- 1 in 5,844 (annual risk) 

• Going to prison this year -- 1 in 139 

• Dying from falling out of your bed or chair -- 1 in 513,142 

• Being stuck and killed by a falling aircraft -- 1 in 25 million 

• Getting food poisoning -- 1 in 8 (annual risk) 

• Hiring a sleazy lawyer -- 1 in 8 

• Freezing to death (in non-tropical countries) -- 1 in 780,938 (annual risk) 

SO ANTI-LYNAS FOLKS, IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO DIE FROM CANCER OR SOMETHING NASTY, THE BEST THING TO DO IS NOT TO BE BORN!

If one is already born, the best way to avoid dying from cancer is to die young from other illnesses like dengue, bird flu or malaria or from accidents!

MAYBE, IF ONE IS ALREADY BORN, ONE OF THE MOST PLEASANT WAY TO DIE IS TO DIE UNDER GA (GENERAL ANAESTHESIA) WHEN HAVING A SURGICAL OPERATION.

VERY PLEASANT, NO PAIN, NO KNOWLEDGE, JUST LIKE GOING TO A NORMAL SLEEP AND YOU DIE UNDER THE CLEAR KNOWLEDGE THAT YOUR WIFE AND FAMILY WILL BE WELL TAKEN CARE OF FINANCIALLY because they will be able to sue the surgeon and hospital for millions of dollars ! Dying in any other way which include heart disease, infection, renal failure, lung failure, cancer or even "old age" can be rather painful and uncomfortable !

The risk of dying from a road traffic related accident in Malaysia is much higher than that which has been predicted for the death from radiation induced cancers.

For instance in 2009, there were 6,745 deaths in a population of 27.9 million giving a rate of 24.17 deaths per 100,000.

The main reason why the people of Kuantan is so frightened of the "Fukushimization" of the Lynas plant is pure and simple politics.

The chairman of the coalition of one of the anti-lynas organisation said in one of the Blogs:

Quote: "Thanks for the clarification. I agree with you, the will of the people must prevail, IRREGARDLESS OF WHETHER THE LAMP IS SAFE OR NOT1" Unquote.

What the above statement means in simple non-Australian English is that THE WHOLE ISSUE IS 100% POLITICS AND THERE IS REALLY NOTHING WRONG WITH THE LYNAS PROJECT except that it is a fantastic political tool for certain politicians to gain POWER.

ONCE THE GENERAL ELECTION IS OVER, LYNAS WILL BECOME A HIGHLY BENEFICIAL PROJECT especially if they win!

THERE ARE NO DANGEROUS RADIATION, NO TOXIC WASTE PROBLEM BUT A LOT OF TOXIC, RADIOACTIVE POLITICIANS with a lot of innocent naive brainwashed followers. 

Dr Looi. 

Addictive To Exaggeration

RIDICULOUS CLAIM: 1 QUARTER OF A MILLION PEOPLE SUPPORTED THE GREENIES DURING BERSIH 3 !

Quote: Lu Cheng Long 

"Everyone claims that their view represent the majority. So the majority really reject Lynas? I don't know, but anti Lynas people sure make a lot noise. But we know well informed people support Lynas. 

ANOTHER THING IS DURING BERSIH 3, I SAW LOTS AND LOTS OF YELLOW, ONLY A HANDFUL OF PITIFUL GREEN. IT MUST BE A VERY HARD FEELING FOR ANTI LYNAS PEOPLE THINKING THAT THE NATION IS WITH THEM' Unquote

Helicopter pictures of the main section of the crowd with subsequent computer analysis of "Bersih 3" published in the Sin Chew Newspaper (yes, the Sin Chew Newspaper which is very sympathetic to the anti lynas people ) showed that the total number of people attending the demonstration in the main section was less than 5,000 people and not 250,000 people as claimed by some.

And only a tiny miserable proportion of these people are the "GREENIES". This type of gross exaggeration is very typical of the anti-lynas crowd. 

Now you know how a simple chemical plant can be magically and conveniently transformed in to a Nuclear Plant!

HOPE THE SO CALLED INTERNATIONAL DEMONSTRATION NEXT WEEK BY A FEW MALAYSIAN GREENIES (OR BLACK SHIRTIES) AND A FEW AUSTRALIAN LOONIES WILL NOT BE INTERPRETED AS A WORLD WIDE ANTI-LYNAS DEMONSTRATION !

REMEMBER, THERE ARE ABOUT 194 COUNTRIES WITH ABOUT 600,000 CITIES AND TOWNS IN THE WORLD.

Dato' Dr Looi Hoong Wah.

Government Has Not Made Final Decision

KUALA LUMPUR - The government has not made a final decision on the Lynas Advance Materials Plant Project and will not do so until it is fully satisfied that the plant will be safe, said Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

The prime minister said this was to ensure that the people would not feel that anything untoward would happen to them, including in the long term.

"We have to go through the process of convincing the people that the plant will be safe," he said during a one-hour chat with members of the public via the NST Live Chat Session on the NST website, here, today.

Najib was asked whether the government has made a decision on the Lynas issue since it had announced three weeks ago that it would be made in two weeks' time.

Last month, Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Datuk Seri Dr Maximus Ongkili said a decision on the appeal by three individuals against the Lynas Advanced Materials Plant's temporary operating licence (TOL) would be made in two weeks' time.

Ongkili said he went through the 14 submissions raised as the basis of their appeal, but needed more time to consult related experts and authorities before making a decision.

Najib also was not spared questions on the general election date and, in reply, he said he was looking at all possibilities before making a decision.

He said the government would continue its engagement with the urban voters, including the Chinese voters.

"They have to understand that their future will be better with the Barisan Nasional as we can ensure peace, stability, harmony and a more prosperous society.

"The major difference is that the degree of certainty with regard to our ability to deliver is much greater," he said.

Uninformative Anti Lynas Information

Comment by Anti-Lynas on article by Ahmad Ibrahim, Fellow of Academy of Sciences, Malaysia:

" It is with ridiculous and SAD to read the article and statement by our own science academician (e.g. CEO of ASM) on the rare earth processing plant in La Rochelle. 

Again, it just showed that how “un-informed” (or unwilling) is our so called “scientist” in finding the facts on the rare earth industry.  

The plant in La Rochelle is not like Lynas. They don't store the waste in their vicinity, the waste is stored in a facility specialized in disposing radioactive waste."

ANSWER:

The La Rochelle plant uses Monazite-(Ce)...(Ce, La, Nd, Th, Y)PO4 and this is by far the most common and most radioactive of the 3 types of monazite ore. The other 2 types which are Monazite-(La) and Monazite-(Nd).

The monazite from Malaysian Tin tailings has 6 to 7% Thorium-232 and has an activity of 284 Bq/g.

WASTES

Until the end of 1974, the plant released all radioactive liquids and solids directly into the sea. Since, and until the end of 1990, it sent at least a part of the solid residues to the CSM. 

These wastes are composed, among other substances, of thorium 232, uranium 238, and their descendants (including radium 226 and 228).

SOLID WASTES

--A solid residue resulting from the processing prior to July 1994 and described by Andra as “Résidu solide banalisé” (RSB), solid residue made commonplace. 

As of June 1999, 8025 tons (50% moisture) with an activity of 217 GBq were on the site. The thorium 232 in the dry product represented 48 Bq/g; the uranium 238, 6 Bq/g. 

Rhône-Poulenc placed 61,000 t of what Andra describes as RSB into a waste site located near its factory and belonging to the city of La Rochelle (Port de Pallice). 

The residues contain in particular thorium 232 (48 Bq/g dry product) and uranium 238 (6 Bq/g dry product), for a total of 1.65 TBq [Andra 00]. 

--Radioactive minerals that have not been attacked. According to Andra, they have been used to fill in a part of the plant site;

--Substances in suspension, the only residue produced by the minerals used today. 10,048 t (50% moisture) containing thorium 232 (2.6 Bq/g ) and uranium 238 (4.7Bq/g) for a total of 37 GBq are stored at the plant;

--Tailings, containing thorium 232, uranium 238, and their descendents including radium. They are more radioactive than the RSB (see above). 

They are located at Cadarache and presumably in the bay of La Rochelle. They were stored for a time at the CSM. 

--Thorium nitrate and crude thorium hydroxide. The 2000 inventory of Andra states in a footnote that it does not take into consideration some 11,000 t of thorium nitrate (mass activity 1650 Bq/g) and about 20,000 t of crude thorium hydroxide (mass activity 720 Bq/g), the “historic” residue of the processing prior to mid-1994, because these substances are “commercialized at present “by Rhodia Terres Rares. 

The thorium nitrate is used in the manufacture of lamp sleeves; the hydroxide “is a potential raw material.” Apparently these substances are stored at the site [Andra 99]. The 1997 inventory of Andra listed the hydroxide as a waste.

The waste thorium nitrate (mass activity 1650 Bq/g) has an activity which is 27,500% higher than the waste from Lynas which is only 6 Bq/g! Apparently these substances are stored at the site [Andra 99].

8,025 TONS OF WASTE WITH AN ACTIVITY OF 217 GBq were still stored in the compounds of the plant.

THIS "LOW RADIOACTICITY WASTE" has 48 Bq/g from Thorium 232 and 6 Bq/g from Uranium-238 giving a total of 54 Bq/g. 

You have to realise that 54 Bq/g is 900% higher than that of the Lynas waste of 6 Bq/g. And these wastes are still being stored in the compound of the plant.

IF THE FRENCH ARE NOT WORRIED ABOUT 54 Bq/g OF RADIOACTIVITY, WHY ARE SOME MALAYSIANS SO FRIGHTENED OF ONLY 6 Bq/g?

Answer: 100% pure politics from toxic radioactive politicians!

Dato' Dr Looi