let independent panel monitor lynas'

KUALA LUMPUR: The government has been urged to hire independent monitoring bodies to publish the radiation readings of residue to be disposed by Lynas Corporation.
Environmental Protection Society Malaysia adviser Gurmit Singh said this was important as proof that the radiation level was safe as the government had claimed.
"So far, the Atomic Energy Licensing Board (AELB) has come up with statements saying that the radiation levels are low, but have yet to publish any detailed findings to prove their point.
"This is important to address the layman's concern.
"As long as the research and findings by the government are not published, there is always going to be concern," he told the New Straits Times when contacted yesterday.
Citing the now-closed Asian Rare Earth (ARE) project in Bukit Merah, Perak, as an example, he urged the government to reconsider its decision to continue with the project.
"Shifting the disposal site is not going to address bigger problems that will occur later in the future, the site might be shifted far from where people live but there is still the eco-system and animals could also be affected.
"Radiation is not something that can be immediately seen or felt, hence the phobia by the public."
On Friday, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said the government had decided to ask Lynas Corporation to dispose of residue from its rare earth processing plant to a dedicated site far from residential areas.
He said the decision was made based on findings that there was a need to address the people's "emotional and psychological" wellbeing of the RM2.5 billion plant.
AELB director-general Raja Abdul Aziz Raja Adnan had reportedly said that scientifically the residue from the plant would have a lower radiation level than the iron oxides being transported all over the country everyday.
"Scientific evidence from local and international scientists, and independent bodies, has shown that the Lynas operation is safe," said Aziz.
Several quarters, including a team of United Nations atomic energy experts, had pointed out that there was no cause for concern in terms of radioactivity at the Lynas plant.


Read more: 'Let independent panel monitor Lynas' - General - New Straits Times http://www.nst.com.my/local/general/let-independent-panel-monitor-lynas-1.55711#ixzz1oCJkysUM