KUANTAN: The decision to allow Lynas Malaysia to extract thorium from its radioactive waste is not likely to be a practical solution to deal with the issue, say activists.
Save Malaysia, Stop Lynas (SMSL) chairman Tan Bun Teet said they were not convinced that it would be economically viable for Lynas to remove thorium from the large amount of water leach purification (WLP) residue produced at its plant in Gebeng here every year.
"We are highly suspicious and not confident of this plan. The experiment to extract thorium is small-scale and done in a laboratory. We believe that in Lynas' case, the costs will be so high and it will not be feasible.
He said Lynas is estimated to produce 76,000 tonnes of WLP per year or more.
"How is Lynas going to cope with extracting thorium from such a huge amount of waste?" said Tan.
He also said allowing Lynas to continue processing lanthanide concentrate here would just add on to the existing residue.
On Tuesday (Oct 24), Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Chang Lih Kang announced that Lynas Malaysia would be allowed to import lanthanide concentrate until its licence expires in March 2026.
The Australian rare earth materials producer will also be allowed to carry out cracking and leaching activities under the condition that radioactive levels in the WLP residue it produces is below 1 Bq/g, he said.
(Becquerel per gram [Bq/g] describes the rate at which radioactive material emits radiation in a given time period).
Himpunan Hijau chairman and former Bentong MP Wong Tack said Chang must first compel Lynas to prove that its "experiment" works by removing the thorium from its existing residues.
He also said Lynas' licence should not have been extended, allowing them to generate more waste when existing waste has not been safely dealt with.
