Monday, June 6, 2011

"Yang Lynas tak pernah bagi tahu" [part 1], 05 June2011


He received his Doctor of Philosophy (PHD) degree in engineering and science of corrosion (corrosion science and engineering) from University of Manchester, UK and qualified as an engineering consultant and is involved in this field for 7 years. He also was born and grew up in Kuantan. (https: / / www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=10150212310009850).


Dr. Lee indicated that the rare earth raw materials will be processed soil and packing the powder before being exported to Malaysia to take a 4,000 km journey from Australia.


Audience of more than 100 people.
Dr. Lee said, according to a report prepared by Lynas, Lynas Advanced Materials Plant (LAMP) will produce 11.000 tons of pure rare earth in the first year and 22,000 tons next year. Follow the market today, the sales price a kilogram (KG) of pure rare earth is USD $ 180. Indeed, LAMP will produce waste water of 500ton per hour, the waste gas of 100,000 cubic meters per hour, and the rest of the cement has beradiasi elements (Iron-phosphogypsum) of 64.000 tons of Thorium which content is 1655ppm (or 106ton) and Uranium is 87ppm (or 5.6ton).

In addition, the export revenue is expected to be achieved Lynas RM8 Billion per year but the tax exempt for 12 years in conjunction with tax incentives granted by the Government of Malaysia
Dr. Lee said, according to a report prepared by Lynas, Lynas Advanced Materials Plant (LAMP) will produce 11.000 tons of pure rare earth in the first year and 22,000 tons next year. Follow the market today, the sales price a kilogram (kg) of pure rare earth is USD $ 180. Indeed, LAMP will produce waste water of 500ton per hour, the waste gas of 100,000 cubic meters per hour, and the rest of the cement has beradiasi elements (Iron-phosphogypsum) of 64.000 tons of Thorium which content is 1655ppm (or 106ton) and Uranium is 87ppm (or 5.6ton).
In addition, the export revenue is expected to be achieved Lynas RM8 Billion per year but the tax exempt for 12 years in conjunction with tax incentives granted by the Government of Malaysia.

Map of Lynas Advance Material Plant (LAMP)

Step processes LAMP
Note: The translation is added to the mandarin word for Malaysians can understand

"And it only happens when efficiency is 100%,"he said. Lee. "Everyone understands, is the efficiency of 100% can occur? In the chemical process, process efficiency is just as high as 70%," said the expert in chemical engineering.

Referring to the picture which shows that LAMP-step process, if efficiency is not 100% efficient or not, it is very likely, pollution, radiation will occur through the waste gas, waste water and waste, which initially claimed it did not beradiasi. Total waste per annum will be achieved 231800ton (Gypsum 55.800 ton / year + Magnesium-rich gypsum 176.000 tons / year).

1. Rare earth elements (RRE) or Rare Earth Oxides (REO) occur as Monazite in nature, monazite is phosphate mineral comprising mainly of the light REE especially Ce, La, Nd and Pr. The mineral also contains considerable amount of heavy REE such as Y and the radioactive element Thorium. These rare earth metals bind with PO4 to form Monazite (ref: Wikipedia). At once, the Monazite mineral and the soils, sand, rocks etc will be mined from Mt. Weld. The Mt. Weld mine deposits contains 8% - 12% of (REO) with approx.. 400 ppm Thorium.

2. The Mt. Weld mine one will be then transported to the Concentration Plant, where the mineral is separated from the unwanted soils, sand and rocks. The products from the concentration plant, also known as concentrates, is primarily the monazite mineral, contains approx. 40% REO with REO with 1600 ppm Thorium. This product will be shipped from Australia to Gebeng, some 4000 km away for further processing.

3. At LAMP, the aim of the process is to extract 40% REO from the concentrate to produce the high purity REO. Other chemicals such as sulphuric acid, ammonia and magnesium hydroxide will be added to the process for extraction and purification of the rare earth metals.

4. What is the waste sludge are mostly phosphates, gypsum, magnesium and Thorium compounds. Note 40% of the concentrates has been extracted as REO product, hence the Thorium concentration left in the waste is significantly higher than that of the concentrates. Lynas failed to clarify the exact Thorium concentration in waste. In term of quantity however, approx.. 120 tonnes of Thorium will be produced from LAMP every year (ref: Malaysia Insider, 12th Apr 2011: Interview with N.Curtis).

5. The final valuable REO products will be then be exported to US, Europe and Japan, what left in Malaysia is abundance of waste, including the radioactive Thorium-bound wastes, of which Lynas has no detailed for treatment, disposal and storage. (ref: Malaysia Insider, 12th Apr 2011).

We urge to stop all LAMP operation now. We reject shipment of radioactive materials* onto our shore. We prohibit dumping of radioactive wastes* in our beloved country.
*Regardless how safe and no matter how low radioactive Lynas/ Authorities claim the materials would be.

Prepared by Dr.L, Save Malaysia.

 
What they claimed?
What does it really mean to us?
“Vast job opportunity will be generated”

LAMP is not labour intensive and its processor primarily automated. Only total of 450 employees (including expatriate , skilled, unskilled) needed full operation (ref: Malaysia Chronicle, 31th March 2011)

“skilled workers who will be given the best knowledge on the processing of the rare earth …* (refer: Malaysia Insider, 12th Apr 2011). “Technology/ knowledge transfer” (ref: Preliminary EIA, Environ)

Total rare earth reserves in Malaysia is merely 35,000 tonnes or 0.023% of world’s rare earth deposits (ref: Mineral Commodity Summaries 2008); Malaysia is not a conventional major rare earth producing country; we produced only 380 tonnes of REO in 2008 and 2009 (ref: Mineral Commodity Summaries 2010), thus transferring knowledge in rare earth does benefit the country considerably.

“LAMP to generate USD 1.7 billion, almost 1% of Malaysia annual GDP (2010)” (ref: NYTimes, 8th Mar 2011)

Malaysia offered 12 year tax free holiday to Lynas. The revenue generated from LAMP will be channeled to Australia and Lynas’ shareholders.

“the ration of thorium to rare earth metals found in its concentrated raw was 55 to 10,000 while the Bukit Merah operation had 12,000 parts thorium to every parts of rare earth,” Lynas (ref: Malaysia Insider, 12th Apr 2011)
ржд
his comparison does show Thorium content was higher in Bukit Merah than in the Lynas FEED. However, this also suggest in order to produce 22,000 tonnes/yr of REO, the LAMP will generate a massive 120 tonnes of radioactive Thorium every year. (22,000/ 10,000 tonnes x 55 = 120 tonnes)

AELB demonstrated at Kuantan hall, that Geiger counter low radioactivity at 0.2 mSv/hr from the rare earth process waste sample (ref: Malaysia Insider, 6th Apr 2011).

LAMP has not begun production; source and authenticity of waste sample remain questionable. Further, radioactivity was measured based on minute amount of sample (emitted by Thorium) can be filtered away (ref: IAEA). This result does not signify the real circumstance of copious of copious tonnage of Thorium compounds stored in Gebeng.

“the levels are absolutely different with japan, no comparison. Even after 70 hours (of exposure to our waste), all you get is an x-ray …” Lynas. (ref Malaysia Insider, 12th Apr 2011, interview with N.Curtis).

This claim based upon the radioactivity level of 0.2 mSv/hr. An X-ray scan incur 1.4 mSv/hr x 70 hr (ref: Wikipedia).
However, production of 120 tonnes Thorium compounds every year can release exceptionally higher than just 0.2mSv/hr.

“at 1600 ppm, concentrates shipped to Malaysia was not considered radioactive materials.” Lynas and AELB.

Note the 1600 ppm refers to the Thorium content in the FEED Minerals to LAMP (ref: Lynas; see page 1), not in the wastes.

“The radioactive level of Lynas residue is only is 1/300th of the Asian Rare Earth residue (6.7 Bq/g vs 1900 Bq/g).” (ref: M, James Lynas Corporate communications, Writestreet, 31th July 2009).

Our calculation shown 6.7 Bq/gram corresponds to 1600 ppm Thorium again, referred to the Thorium content in the FEED Minerals to LAMP. It is incorrect Lynas to focus on radioactivity level of FEED but failed to clarify the radioactive Thorium-containing wastes, which will be stayed in Gebeng, potentially for years.

AELB DG, Raja Aziz pointed out tighter controls the 1600 ppm of thorium that Lynas had promised. Raja Aziz said “Lynas was confident of keeping thorium levels in its waste to 1600 ppm compared to the amang tin tailings used in Bukit Merah which produced 80,000 ppm of thorium in its waste.” “You can just tabur (scatter) everywhere” – AELB DG.

As above, the 1600 ppm Thorium in FEED Mineral is being emphasized again. It unwise AELB to give such remarks to create a false perception. Radioactive level may be low in the FEED Minerals, however after the REO is extracted, Thorium will be concentrated and subsequently disposed as waste. No comment being made on radiation risk due to higher Thorium concentration in the wastes.

Lynas PLANS to mixed the iron-bound thorium with Lime to dilute it to thorium concentration of less than 500 parts per million (ppm) – the maximum permitted under international standards to allow the material to be disposed with few restrictions. However, Lynas admitted to not having a commercial application yet. (ref: Malaysia Insider, 12th Apr 2011, Interview with N.Curtis). Raja Aziz also said that Lynas must stay under 500 ppm of thorium in its waste or to be told to cease operations.

How is this (Diluting and storing such vast amount of waste) commercially and technically feasible remain in great doubt. LAMP will produce 120 tonnes of Thorium every year, if such quantity of Thorium has to be diluted to 500 ppm, an additional of 220,000 tonnes of waste to be generated every year!
It is extremely concerned if Lynas would practice this (Thorium dilution); and how 220,000 tonnes/yr of radioactive waste can be stored safely.

“It’s not that Lynas does not have the solution. The solution (storage dams) has been agreed. Now Lynas is going beyond the standards,” (ref: Malaysia Insider, 12th Apr 2011).

Lynas has not disclosed the technical details of the Thorium treatment, nor its storage system. All we know it is a “temporary” Tailing Storage Facilities on site that made of clay and HDPE, long term storage remained unresolved (ref: The Star Online, 11th Mar 2011). Without these details, the repeated reassurance of safe storage by Lynas remain dubious.

“We will not let them accumulate that much. We will stop them. They cannot be accumulating that much. There must be a parallel process” Raja Aziz, AELB (ref: Harakahdaily, 19th Apr 2011)

Lynas has no detailed plan of disposal nor of Thorium-compund wastes (ref: The Star Online, 12th Mar 2011). There is only way to accumulating this waste, that is to stop the entire process.

Dr. Ahmad Tarmizi, a UTM says that thorium exist in the environment naturally. Lynas and AELB have also given a similar remark. (ref: The Star, 10th Apr 2011).
“Iron phosphor gypsum” has a very low level of naturally occurring thorium which is the source of very low level radioactivity.” Lynas (ref: NST 14th Apr 2011)

It is irrelevant to quote the Thorium content in natural environment. For comparison, the average amounts between 8 to 12 ppm (ref: Wikipedia); Thorium in Mt. Weld mine is reportedly 400 ppm; Thorium in the Concentrates or FEED Minerals to LAMP is 1600 ppm (ref: Lynas). After REO is extracted from the FEED minerals, the Thorium concentration and its radioactivity is unquestionably greater than that occurred naturally in the soil, sand, earth crust etc.

 
Lynas Advanced Materials Plant (LAMP) is a rare earth processing plant is likely very large to destroy the environment and affect the health of the population living within 30km of it a metropolis of about 700 thousand people, including the Balok, Kemaman and Kuantan. However, the Lynas is a 12-year tax holiday and the people of Malaysia will be forced to assume responsibilities that are not reasonable, caring place to store dangerous radioactive waste forever.

Original source via Stv ZongLiang. from Kuantan, 5 June 2011