pre opening price up!, page-19

Yaeh right Julia....


Washington post today...

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia ? The International Atomic Energy Agency has recommended further measures be taken to ensure safety at a 700 million ringgit ($230 million) refinery being built to supply the world?s high-tech manufacturers with rare earths, the Malaysian government said Thursday.
The plant, which is about 40 percent completed in central Pahang state, has been the subject of heated protests over health and environmental risks posed by potential leaks of radioactive waste from the site.
Opposition to the project led the government to seek a review from the IAEA on its safety. A nine-member IAEA team visited Malaysia for six days to assess the facility.
Australian miner Lynas Corp., which is building the plant, says it would be equipped with state-of-the-art pollution controls. But the IAEA told the Malaysian government that the project lacks a comprehensive long-term waste management program and a plan to dismantle the plant once it is no longer operating.
Trade ministry secretary-general Rebecca Fatima Sta Maria told reporters that the IAEA recommendations would be followed to the letter, and that raw materials would not be imported and operations would not take place beforehand.
?We will not compromise on public safety, but we have to be practical. The rare earth is a strategic industry that is beneficial to us. It must be properly managed but not avoided,? she said.
The plant could become the first such facility outside China in years and may curtail its stranglehold on the global supply of 17 rare earths essential for making high-tech goods including flatscreen TVs, mobile phones, hybrid cars and weapons.
The company says the refinery could meet nearly a third of world demand for rare earths, excluding China.
Malaysia, which granted tax breaks and other incentives to Lynas, hopes the facility will spur growth. But its last rare earth refinery, in northern Perak state, was closed in 1992 following protests and claims that it caused birth defects and leukemia among residents nearby. It is one of Asia?s largest radioactive waste cleanup sites.
In its report submitted earlier Thursday, the IAEA team urged the government to prepare a plan that addresses all its recommendations and sets out a time frame for action.
It also urged Malaysia?s Atomic Licensing Energy Board to be more transparent in its regulatory actions and make radiation safety information more accessible to the public. It called for a follow-up review in one to two years once all conditions are met.
Sta Maria said a decommissioning fund is being worked out, with Lynas requiring to set aside 0.5 percent of its annual gross sales. She indicated the government has to compensate Lynas if the project is scrapped, but declined to elaborate.
Lynas officials are to hold a press conference later Thursday.
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.



"but we have to be practical here!!!!"

Most of the criticisms were actually directed to AELB in malaysia. the funding has already been established 0.5% of all sales for decommissioning. Please wake up and smell the RARE EARTH.