WAN Rosdy Wan Ismail today said there are no tributaries in Bukit Ketam, which has been named as the location for Lynas Malaysia Sdn Bhd’s permanent disposal facility (PDF).

The Atomic Energy Licensing Board (AELB), an agency under the Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry, decided on the site, the Pahang menteri besar told the state assembly.

“It’s an agency with expertise on the matter. The state secretary (Sallehuddin Ishak) and I have visited the site, which is said to have tributaries. However, we didn’t find any there.

“In fact, Lanchang (Mohd Sharkar Shamsuddin) and Benta (Mohd Soffi Abd Razak), too, have visited the site and found the claim to be untrue,” he said in reply to Lee Chean Chung (PH-Semambu), who asked if an in-depth study was conducted before selecting Bukit Ketam as the location for the PDF.

Lee said a study is necessary as there are claims that the site is a water catchment area, leading to fears that the facility will pose a risk to about 600,000 consumers in Kuantan.

The construction of the PDF for water leach purification residue is among the conditions for the extension of Lynas’ operating licence as announced by AELB last year. The facility will reportedly be built on a 12ha site in Bukit Ketam.

However, the decision on its construction has not yet been finalised, pending radiological and environmental impact assessment reports. – Bernama, August 24, 2020.