The Atomic Energy Licensing Board (AELB) has refused comment on whether the Lynas Advanced Materials Plant (Lamp) in Gebeng will adversely impact an industrial park proposed nearby.

NONE “I can’t comment on that, but (rest assured) if it involved radioactivity or radiation we will be the first one there,” its director-general Raja Abdul Aziz Raja Adnan ( left ) said at a briefing today.

He was asked to comment on reports that stakeholders of a planned China-Malaysia joint-venture industrial park in Gebeng, near the Lynas facility, had asked the government to consider shutting down the Lamp as it may adversely affect their operations.

Talking to reporters and members of the public at the AELB headquarters in Dengkil, Raja Abdul Aziz said that when Lamp begins operations under the temporary operating licence (TOL), the plant will only operate in a limited capacity.

He said this will continue until the plant corrects all and any hiccups and until the monitoring body is certain the plant operator has fulfilled its claims and the terms of the licence.

Process can continue for two years

“We are never confident (that they will comply). Which is why we need the period of the TOL to monitor and ensure that they follow through.

“We will first run one batch (of ores) and if we are unsure then another batch, until we are confident to allow them to operate at full capacity.”

NONE The process he said can run for more then the original two years allowed for in the TOL, as they monitor and make sure Lynas delivers with their claims, as they can extend the period of the TOL and not allow a full licence to the Australian-based rare earth mining firm.

A reasonable time frame would be allowed for Lynas to correct any hiccup.

However, Raja Abdul Aziz stressed that should Lynas fail to deliver or the problem is too severe, the AELB can terminate the operations and suspend Lynas’ licence.

Raja Abdul Aziz said that even under the limited operations to test out aspects of Lamp’s operations, Lynas will be permitted to sell whatever products that are produced.

However, this is subject to the approvals from AELB and the Department of Environment.

Quizzed if the Australian firm can make use of this apparent “loophole” to begin operations under the TOL pending further corrections to its operations, the AELB chief said that would be bad business-wise as it would cost the company more money.

“They would have to continue to pay us for their assessment, and they will have to pay for the third party assessor.

"Plus, we will be all over their operations, we will be watching over their shoulders. It is not a good way to do business,” he said.

The continuing saga of the rare earths plant in Gebeng has resulted in a ping-pong match between the federal government and its agencies citing overriding economic benefits and concerned citizens and civil society in general who fear the re-occurrence of Bukit Merah rare plant disaster.

A joint venture between Mitsubishi Chemical Industries Ltd and local businesses, the Bukit Merah Asian Rare Earth plant became the poster child of environmentalists and social activists when operations at the site and its waste disposal facility were claimed to be detrimental to the health of residents and polluting the environment.

The Lynas plant in Gebeng has sparked similar fears, especially over the ultimate fate of the plant’s radioactive waste, which still remains uncertain.