Thursday September 13, 2012

German nuke expert feels Lynas is safe

KUANTAN: A renowned nuclear scientist from Germany feels the Lynas Advanced Materials Plant (LAMP) in Gebeng here is safe, provided the company follows all guidelines.

Karlsruhe Institute of Technology chief science officer Dr Ing Joachim U. Knebel said he was aware of – and had read up on – the chemical plant that had been recently granted a temporary operating licence.

“There is no such thing as a 100% guarantee in terms of safety. As long as the company complies with the stipulated regulations and ample safety measures are put in place, there should not be any problem,” he said after delivering a lecture on Nuclear Power for Tomorrow: Innovative Designs, Safety, Waste Disposal and Public Communication at Universiti Malaysia Pahang in Gambang near here.

Dr Knebel said that in addition to compliance, regular monitoring by independent authorities should be conducted both within and outside the perimeter of the plant.

He said the readings must be evaluated in a transparent manner and the public be kept informed that it (the plant) was within “acceptable limits”.

Sharing the German experience, he said his country had independent researchers and authorities monitoring nuclear plants based on the environmental radiation measurements.

“Should the front shield fail, we must be clever enough to have a back-up solution and other counter measures,” he said.

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