SCIENCE, Technology and Innovation Minister Khairy Jamaluddin told the Dewan Rakyat yesterday that Lynas must “start” the process of developing a permanent disposal facility (PDF) for its toxic, radioactive water leach purification (WLP) waste by March next year, failing which, the company’s operating licence will be revoked.

“Start” is meaningless. It appears that this sort of lenient, unclear and open-ended condition was set just to accommodate Lynas in order to facilitate its continued operations in the country. It is clearly not meant to protect the people’s safety and interests.

What’s more important is not when the construction of the PDF “starts”, but when it will be completed and all radioactive waste can be safely disposed of.

On August 15 last year, the Atomic Energy Licensing Board said the “construction of the PDF has to be expedited to minimise the risks posed by the pile of WLP waste, which has exceeded 580,000 tonnes, in the temporary residue storage facility, which is exposed to the threat of natural disasters, like massive floods”.

Regulation 21 of the Atomic Energy Licensing (Radioactive Waste Management) Regulations 2011 stipulates that radioactive waste must not be stored in areas prone to natural disasters.

The minister must exercise his duties to protect the people by ensuring that this law is enforced without further delay.

Until today, the people are still in the dark as to the exact location of the PDF site. We don’t know whether studies on the suitability of the location have been carried out. What happens if the site chosen is not suitable, or unacceptable to the people?

As clearly stated by the International Atomic Energy Agency in its 2011 mission report on Lynas, which the government claims the firm has complied with, the location of the PDF must be determined in consultation with stakeholders before Lynas is allowed to start operations.

Unless these issues are ironed out, the government should not allow Lynas to generate more radioactive waste in our land. – July 17, 2020.

* Wong Tack is Bentong MP.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.