5,000 PROTESTS AGAINST RARE EARTH REFINERY PLANT IN MALAYSIA

KUANTAN, Pahang, Malaysia - Various shades of green were spotted at the Kuantan Municipal Council field here as more than 5,000 supporters of Himpunan Hijau 2.0 gathered to protest against the construction of Lynas Corporation's rare earth processing plant in Gebeng.
The rally is part of an ongoing effort to stop the construction of the RM2.5 billion Australian-owned plant, citing health concerns from its radioactive waste.

• The Atomic Energy Licensing Board (AELB) has given the company 10-months to submit plans for the permanent disposal facility, which is among conditions the company has to fulfil for a temporary operating liscense.
• Protesters, including opposition lawmakers, vowed Sunday to pressure the government to scrap the project. Many wore green T-shirts with the words “Stop Lynas” and some shouted “Destroy Lynas” during the two-hour rally in the Pahang state capital of Kuantan.
• Lynas says its refinery could meet nearly a third of world demand for rare earths, excluding China. It also may curtail China’s stranglehold on the global supply of 17 rare earths essential for making high-tech goods, including flat-screen TVs, mobile phones, hybrid cars and weapons.
• Malaysian activists and Pahang residents have sought a court order to halt the Lynas plant.

An International Atomic Energy Agency team, which assessed the Lynas project last year, found it lacked a comprehensive long-term waste management program and a plan to dismantle the plant once it is no longer operating.
Malaysia’s last rare earth refinery by Japan’s Mitsubishi group, in northern Perak state, was closed in 1992 following protests and claims that it caused birth defects and leukemia among residents. It is one of Asia’s largest radioactive waste cleanup sites.

Source: AP, The Sunday Daily