Wednesday, June 27, 2012

TOXIC LEGACY IN RARE EARTH VILLAGE HAUNTS LYNAS.

"Mitsubishi's rare-earth refinery is Malaysia's worst industrial tragedy," said T. Jayabalan, a public health consultant who lived in Bukit Merah in the late 1980s, fighting for the plant's closure and documenting leukaemia cases.

Jayabalan said he had documented at least 11 deaths due to blood poisoning, brain tumours and leukaemia.

AN ADAPTATION OF MOTHERCHELL WITH APOLOGIES

When the plant opened, villagers immediately complained of a stinging smoke and foul odour. Local ignorance meant that waste disposal was carried out with shocking recklessness.

"At one time, we dug a pit near a river in Bukit Merah and buried the waste," said Ng.

"Occasionally, lumps of wet thorium sludge would fall off the lorry and school children would walk pass it."

Mitsubishi Chemicals closed the plant in 1994 after a mounting public outcry, but the government has neither admitted nor denied radiation poisoning in the village.

The only payout by the company was a RM500,000 lump sum to the local community to aid victims in 1994.

"Look at my hands. The skin is peeling," said a 68-year-old local resident who gave only his surname, Ng.

"When I go to a local bar, the women just take off, afraid that if I touch them they will be infected," he said angrily of a mystery skin disorder he has endured for years.

Ng, who ran a hauling business, was awarded a contract to dispose of radioactive waste from the then-new facility in 1982.

The plant's Japanese operators told him it could be used as fertiliser.

But the waste that he casually hauled away and disposed off in fields and rivers around Bukit Merah, home to 15,000 people, contained thorium, a carcinogenic radioactive chemical.

"At one time, we dug a pit near a river in Bukit Merah and buried the waste," said Ng.

"Occasionally, lumps of wet thorium sludge would fall off the lorry and school children would walk pass it."

Mitsubishi Chemicals closed the plant in 1994 after a mounting public outcry, but the government has neither admitted nor denied radiation poisoning in the village.

READ MORE AT MALAY MAIL’S:

TOXIC LEGACY IN RARE-EARTHS VILLAGE HAUNTS LYNAS.

Betcha, LYNAS would not be troubled because they have the backing of the Malaysian Government who may be giving them a Temporary Operating Licence. Why give a TOL, if it is so safe give a PERMANENT OPERATING LICENCE. I dare the GOM!

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

they would be giving Lynas a permanent operating licence if people like YOU weren't spreading lies and making a political issue out of something that has been PROVEN SAFE by all the requisite persons.

Think about the advances in technology since 1994. Hell, think about the advance in technology in the last YEAR. If Lynas thought it would be faced with the same result that occured in 1994, it WOULD NOT operate - people would not invest in something that has the possibility of being harmful, and a company would not invest billions of dollars to invest in a corporation that is going to assist in the economic prosperity of Malaysia.

Everyone keeps making this a politial issue, a reason to get a new government.

zorro said...

Anon1041pm...didn't I dared your heros to give a permanent licence if it was so safe. Technology and propsperity at whose expense. Even the government of Western Australia will not allow LYNAS to process the waste in Perth. What does it tell you? My Aussie friends would say this to you: Thinks he's the ants pants but he's not even the frog's togs.

najib manaukau said...

It is a little too late not to allow the Australians to operate in Malaysia, the underhand deal is done the award to Rosmah is given and so on and so forth. Therefore the best way out of the mess the people involved is to give the Australians a temporary license to operat at least when the GE is so near and the people are screaming just yu wait what is going to happen after the GE if and when the scumbags and parasites remain in power.At least that is what they are hoping and wishing and if they get kick out of Putrajaya they would be around to worry about the whole shamble, you can bet your life the people involved, just like the grand son of the pariah from Kerala, the shenanigan Mahathir will be gone to live in another country. At least this is what they have in mind.

Anonymous said...

Dear Uncle Zorro

The opportunity for financial gain (as well as moral cowardice in the face of an oppressive semi-police state) can make certain people declare that black is white and white is black.

We need to continue repeating that
(1) U.S. public health authorities have explicitly declared that thorium is a carcinogen (2) In addition to thorium, there is radioactive uranium in the Lynas wastes and also (3) other non-radioactive but toxic wastes will also be present. (4) The Lynas plant is 10 times the capacity of the earlier Bukit Merah plant, the amount of wastes from Lynas plant will be huge.

Phua Kai Lit

Anonymous said...

IF THE TECHNOLOGY IS F ADVANCE WHY DON'T THE AUSTRALIAN BUILD IT IN THEIR BACKYARD AND MAKE ALL THE MONEY. WHY SHARE IT HERE???????

BODOH!!!!

Jong said...

Spreading "lies"?

First it was the candles,
then blame the water bottles
and now they call this .."lies"?

Such a weak and filmsy BN government eh? Blame those subterranean termites - the rent collectors(job done!) who else, that have no qualms sinking the BN ship!

JinHou said...

I have wrote an article on the Lynas PSC. Irregularities aplenty in the entire project. It should be stopped at all cost!!

http://www.slcmalaysia.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=13

Sam said...

Faced with the real and high possibility of defeat in GE13, BN especially umnoputras who can still find ways to "korek, korek, korek" are making their last round of plundering before they exit Putrajaya. Examples like Lynas and Penang port that are against public sentiment are pushed through at the expense of losing popular votes. Its now "filling up my pockets is more urgent than saving the sinking BN ship" for them.

zorro said...

Jin Hou, thanks for the headsup. I will feature your blog posting as my Friday Guest Blogger tomorrow. Thanks again.

maj (rtd) haji muhammad bin abdullah @ tan wah guan said...

!@#$%^&* WTBF (Wt d blrdy f@$%k) Anon 10.41...u r now only exposing your own f!@#$%^&*g shit in yor brains thru your own indulgence of trying to show how well u write your posting hopefully without ne one's assistance except of your own....gd work keep it up...way 2 go keep on shitting...hahahhahahhahhah a gd friday lafffff

thx Brod Bernard 4 posting Anon's 10.41 Keep 'em coming

motherchell said...

My dear Zorro,
I'm humbled, and so in awe of your work for the betterment of humankind.
Any contribution is an honor .
My pleasure with all good wishes Zorro dear.

Anonymous said...

mamak from kersla said its safe and those who opposed him got isa.
darn, same mamak who forsake his roots is telling non-malays to be appreciative that they are able to keep their culture.
darn, he wants to forsake his ancestors and he expects everyone to be judas like him.

Angry Burung said...

每個人都來出一份力,國際化「阻止萊納斯」的力量,讓我們早日擺脫這個夢魘!

1)請到聯合國環境規劃署(http://www.facebook.com/unep.org)的臉書專頁,然後在塗鴉牆上留言,如 “Stop Lynas, Save Malaysia!”。

2)請到 2012聯合國可持續發展大會(http://www.facebook.com/UNRioplus20?sk=wall)的臉書專頁, 然後在塗鴉牆上留言,如 “Stop Lynas, Save Malaysia!”。

3)請上 http://stoplynas.org/take-action-green-ban/ ,填寫您的名字和電郵,再按Send就可以電郵給西澳的政治領袖們,要求他們禁止Lynas出口稀土。(就算發送後出現error message, 電郵還是會成功寄出)