lynas plant good to go, minister tells critics, page-3

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2012/6/20/nation/20120620205652&sec=nation

Lynas says committed to operating safely



KUALA LUMPUR: Lynas Corporation Ltd, the Australian rare earth firm behind the Lynas Advanced Materials Plant project in Gebeng, Pahang, says it is committed to operating in a safe and sustainable manner.

In a statement Wednesday, Lynas executive chairman Nicholas Curtis said throughout its time in Malaysia, the company had worked to be completely transparent, and to provide full and comprehensive details about every aspect of its operations to satisfy Government and community concerns.

His comments came in the wake of the Parliamentary Select Committee's (PSC) report recommending that a temporary operating licence (TOL) be issued for the plant to commence operations.

"We welcome the PSC report," Curtis said, adding that Lynas was also committed to making significant ongoing contributions to Malaysia.

The PSC, in its report tabled in Parliament Wednesday, recommended that the plant could go ahead with processing raw materials in stages under the monitoring of enforcement agencies.

The statement said that Lynas had lodged with the Atomic Energy Licensing Board (AELB) its plans to satisfy two new TOL conditions announced by the Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry on June 15.

"Lynas looks forward to the finalisation of the AELB's requirements in relation to those conditions, and the issuance of the TOL, as soon as possible," it said.

The two conditions are in addition to the five given by the AELB to approve a TOL to the company.

One of the new conditions is that Lynas must submit to the AELB a method to immobilise radioactive elements in the residue to be disposed of in the event of excessive residue is stored in the residue storage facility.

The other new condition is that Lynas must also submit an Emergency Response Plan to control the release of dust from the residue into the air and the environment. - Bernama