KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 17 (Bernama) — Lynas Malaysia Sdn Bhd (Lynas) corrected the selective and misleading reports from a local media on the presence of radionuclides near the Lynas Malaysia plant in Gebeng, Kuantan.

Its General Manager of Radiation Safety Dr Ismail Bahairi in a statement today said based on the Radiation Impact Assessment (RIA) for the permanent disposal facility, there is no significant difference in radionuclides in groundwater or fish near the plant in the company’s 10 years of operation.

“This is based on scientific evidence from monitoring data recorded before Lynas Malaysia began operating in Gebeng and 55 rounds of independent monitoring during nine years of Lynas Malaysia’s operation,” he said.

According to him, the RIA was part of an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) which was evaluated by technical experts and specialists including Sahabat Alam Malaysia and was on public display for one and a half months to enable public comment.

The EIA was also provided feedback from local and international experts and approved by the Department of Environment.

“It is false to suggest that Lynas had found high radioactivity levels in underground water. As noted in RIA, radionuclide concentrations for groundwater remain within the Ministry of Health and the World Health Organisation’s guidance levels for drinking water,” Ismail said.

He added that the RIA stated there was no significant difference in the radionuclides of fish caught onsite and offsite of the Lynas Storm Retention Pond in Sungai Balok and thus, it is misleading to suggest that Lynas discovered the radioactive elements.

“Lynas has operated safely for over 10 years in line with Malaysian regulations and international best practice which included two reviews by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that found Lynas to be low risk and compliant with regulations,” he said.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency