Lynas radioactive residue reached 637,581 tonnes as at Sept 24, 2019

KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 21): Lynas Malaysia Sdn Bhd has produced 637,581 tonnes of water leached purification (WLP) radioactive residue as at Sept 24, 2019, up from 451,564 tonnes in December last year.

Meanwhile, non-radioactive scheduled waste disposal neutralization underflow residue (NUF) stood at 1.08 million tonnes as at Sept 24 this year, down from 1.113 million tonnes in December last year, Deputy Minister of Energy, Science, Technology, Environment, and Climate Change Isnaraissah Munirah Majilis told the Dewan Rakyat today.

Isnaraissah said the Atomic Energy Licensing Board (LPTA) has approved the renewal of Lynas' operating licence for just six months under more stringent measures from the government to ensure Lynas operations, especially in terms of Lynas waste management, are safe.

"The new terms were decided following the decision of the Cabinet based on the recommendations made by the Executive Committee on Operations Evaluation of the Lynas Advanced Materials Plant in its November 2018 report," she said.

Isnaraissah was answering a query by Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob (BN-Bera), who asked the government to state why it allowed the operation of Lynas plant in Kuantan and the impact on the health of the people as it continues its operations.

In his follow-up question, Ismail Sabri said the decision of the PH government to renew Lynas' licence has recognised that the BN government has done nothing wrong in allowing Lynas to operate in Malaysia.

Isnaraissah did not deny Ismail Sabri's claim, but she said the current government has imposed more stringent conditions on Lynas, as compared to the previous BN government.

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