Task force to oversee IAEA terms for Lynas plant By Yow Hong Chieh July 05, 2011 KUALA LUMPUR, July 5 ? The Najib administration has set up a task force to oversee implementation of the International Atomic Energy Agency?s (IAEA) 11 recommendations to improve safety at the Lynas rare earths plant in Gebeng. International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed said today that the committee will be jointly chaired by his ministry and the Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry, while members will come from the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry and Pahang state government.
Mustapa (second from left) meeting Kuantan residents on July 4, 2011 to explain the IAEA report on the Lynas plant. Mustapa said in a joint statement with Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Datuk Dr Maximus Johnity Ongkili earlier today that Lynas will only be given the green light to operate once it fulfils all 11 requirements. Separately, Ongkili stressed that the government will ensure that regulator Atomic Energy Licensing Board (AELB) has sufficient ?human, financial and technical resources? to ensure the necessary safety measures are carried out. He said the AELB will also take steps to ?to enhance the understanding, transparency and visibility of its regulatory actions in the eyes of the public, particularly those actions related to inspection and enforcement? at the proposed RM700 million Lynas Advanced Materials Plant (LAMP). The government has also embarked on a campaign to explain the findings of the IAEA?s 55-page report to Kuantan residents fearful of the plant?s environmental impact. Lynas said last week that it expects to meet the 11 recommendations set out in the report by year-end and begin selling rare earth metals by the beginning of next year. The Australian mining giant expects LAMP ? which will extract rare earth metals crucial for high-technology products such as smartphones, hybrid cars and wind turbines ? to generate a RM4 billion multiplier effect annually. Although reports say the plant may earn RM8 billion for Lynas, or more than one per cent of Malaysia?s GDP, critics have questioned the real economic benefit of the project, pointing to the 12-year tax break the company will enjoy due to its pioneer status
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