‘Without proper waste management, environmental factors could carry radioactive elements into ecosystems’

PETALING JAYA: Scientists have raised concerns over the potential movement of radioactive traces from Lynas Malaysia’s rare earth plant in Gebeng, saying the country’s heavy tropical rainfall and underground water flows could carry contamination into soil, rivers, wetlands and even the food chain – just weeks after the company’s licence was renewed for another 10 years.

Universiti Teknologi Mara geoforensics specialists Assoc Prof Dr Ismacahyadi Bagus Mohamed Jais and Dr Noorfaizah Hamzah said environmental conditions could determine how radioactive elements move through ecosystems if waste is not properly managed.

“In Malaysia’s tropical environment in which rainfall is high, rainwater could seep into waste storage areas. If some compounds dissolve, radioactive elements such as uranium may slowly move through soil into underground water.

“If the elements enter groundwater, they could reach nearby wells, rivers, wetlands and coastal areas.

“Radioactive elements could also build up in soil, plants and animals before eventually entering the human food chain,” they told theSun in a joint response.

The duo said environmental monitoring is essential for industrial processing facilities.

They added that soil and sediment checks, groundwater and river testing, dust monitoring and radiation measurements are typically used to track such risks.

However, Ismacahyadi and Noorfaizah also said rare earth refining itself does not produce radioactive elements.

“The feedstock used at the Kuantan plant comes from lanthanide concentrate mined at Mount Weld in Australia.

“This naturally contains small amounts of thorium and uranium, along with rare earth elements.

“Rare earth processing does not create radioactive elements. Instead, it concentrates naturally occurring thorium and uranium into specific waste streams such as Water Leach Purification (WLP).”

Universiti Teknologi Malaysia Occupational Safety, Health and Environment Office (Biosafety and Radiation) deputy director Dr Nor Ezzaty Ahmad told theSun radioactive traces in rare earth waste come from naturally occurring materials in the ore.

“When the rare earth elements are extracted, the radioactive elements stay behind in the waste known as WLP.

“Since the overall waste mass is smaller after processing, the radioactivity in the remaining residue becomes higher.

“This is common in mineral processing industries that work with naturally radioactive materials.”

She added that Malaysia has set a limit for the radioactivity in Lynas’s waste, requiring it to be reduced by 2031 to a level considered very low and safe for the public and the environment, in line with international safety guidelines.

“Materials below this level are generally considered to pose minimal risk and are similar to natural background radiation.

“The goal is to make sure radiation exposure to the public stays low over the long term.”

On March 2, Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Chang Lih Kang announced that Lynas Malaysia received a 10-year licence renewal from March 3 this year until March 2, 2036.

The renewal includes stricter conditions, including a requirement that WLP waste production must stop by 2031, with existing waste treated to meet safety limits.

theSun reached out to the Atomic Energy Department, which regulates the industry under the Atomic Energy Licensing Act 1984, and to Lynas Malaysia for comment on the licence renewal, but neither had responded by press time.

 The Sun Malaysia