PSC to table Lynas report on June 14

KUALA LUMPUR: The Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) on Lynas is expected to table its report in the Dewan Rakyat on June 14.

PSC chairman Datuk Sen Mohammed Khaled Nordin said that once tabled, lawmakers in the lower house are expected to debate the report on June 19.

The next Dewan Rakyat meeting begins on June11.

"The committee will look into the views gathered during the public hearings to help draft the report and recommendations," he said at a press conference after chairing the third and final public hearing in Parliament yesterday.

Yesterday’s public hearing saw nine individuals from various fields such as property consultants and nuclear physicists give their feedback and share their concerns on the Lynas Advanced Materials Plant (LAMP) in Gebeng, Kuantan.

The two previous public hearings were held in Pahangon May lOand May11.

Nuclear physicist Dr Abdul Rahman Omar said the thorium waste which will be produced by Lynas can be used as fuel to generate between RM2 trillion and RM4 trillion worth of electricity a year.

"One tonne of thorium can produce the same amount of energy of 10 million tonnes of coal; imagine the energy that can be harnessed from this." he told the committee.

Abdul Rahman also said that exposure to low levels of radiation from rare earth production is non-fatal and will only have impact if it directly enters the body.

Prof Datuk Dr Proom Promwichit, representing the National Professor’s Council, stressed that the project is safe as long as strict enforcement measures are taken and implemented.

"We need to be really stringent and not take a lackadaisical attitude, this is my only concern," hesaid.

Radiology and environmental expert Prof Dr Ahmad Termizi Ramli meanwhile brushed off allegations that the project would cause high levels of radioactive contamination.

He said that the Lynas plant will produce 1 millisieverts (mSv) of radiation per year compared with the existing 2.4mSv background radiation in Malaysia.

"Logically, if the dose at this level can cause extensive impact to humans, no human being will exist on earth except for mutants," he explained.

Meanwhile, a property consultant Mohd Fawzi Ibrahim said that the prices of terrace and semi-detached houses in Gebeng continue to increase despite claims that the factory will affect the prices of real estate in the vicinity.

He said this was based on the Property Market Report 2011 prepared by the Valuation and Property Services Department.

Date: Tuesday, 22 May 2012

Resource: The Sun, Page: 2