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News Legal/General News AELB under fire over temporary licence for Lynas plant
News Legal/General News AELB under fire over temporary licence for Lynas plant 
| AELB under fire over temporary licence for Lynas plant |
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| Friday, 03 February 2012 10:51am | |
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©The Star (Used by permission) KUANTAN: Anti-Lynas protest groups have criticised the Atomic Energy Licensing Board's (AELB) approval of a temporary operating licence (TOL) for the mining corporation's rare earth refinery in Gebeng here. Stop Lynas Coalition chairman Andansura Rabu said he was surprised that the licence had been granted although the permanent disposal facility (PDF) issue had not been resolved. “One of AELB's conditions was that the plans and location of the PDF must be disclosed within 10 months of the TOL issuance. “Why didn't the Government and its agencies force Lynas to solve this issue first before considering the approval?” he said here yesterday. AELB director-general Raja Abdul Aziz Raja Adnan had said the licence could be suspended or cancelled and future applications be turned down if Lynas did not adhere to five conditions. The conditions included a US$50mil (RM152mil) deposit that Lynas must keep with the Government. Andansura said AELB did not consider the R&D that would be performed by Lynas to recycle waste. “Pahang will become like a public toilet for Lynas. It is as though Lynas has been absolved of all responsibilities,” he said, adding that the coalition would file for a court injunction by Feb 13 to stop the plant from operating. Kuantan MP Fuziah Salleh said AELB's condition that the residue should be returned to the source if necessary was irrational. She said Western Australian Minister for Mines and Petroleum Norman Moore had already said the country would not accept the waste. Save Malaysia, Stop Lynas chairman Tan Bun Teet expressed outrage at AELB's announcement. “The public submitted no less than 1,000 comments and suggestions to AELB on Jan 26. And AELB decides to give Lynas a temporary licence. “The public review was a total charade, a sham,” he said. Himpunan Hijau 2.0 chairman Wong Tack said the TOL should not be issued at all if the authorities and Lynas were not ready. “The licence has been approved in isolation with no detailed environmental impact assessment process being carried out,” he said. Set as favourite Share Email This Comments (0)
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