PELANTAQ HUJAH: LYNAS BEROPERASI. RAKYAT NIKMATI

I have read and seen a lot of myths from Anti-Lynas activists like

1. Australian government has rejected Lynas rare earth plant in Australia.

Answer: Not true.

2. Lynas choosen Malaysia, not Australia because of hazardous waste disposal issue.

Answer: A half true.

All foreign investors like poor waste management policy in Malaysia for cost saving reason.

My support to Lynas always come with one condition, proper waste management audited by an independent expert panel.

3. Gebeng rare earth processing plant is same with Bukit Merah rare earth.

Answer: Not true.

Rare earth compound composition is varied and in different grade, the radioactive from waste in Bukit Merah is 50 times stronger than Gebeng waste.

4. Lynas plant is the same and as dangerous as nuclear plant in Fukushima.

Answer: A big lie.

Lynas plant is just another mining extraction factory from the rare earth with various toxic chemical processes like in the wafer and solar cell factories in Kedah, Sarawak, Penang , Melaka, etc.

5. All radioactive materials are deadly as Uranium used in the nuclear reactor.

Answer: Not true.

Thorium-232 does not produce dangerous gamma rays, which have high ionising energy, high frequency and short electromagnetic wavelength. So thorium radioactive material will not travel more than a few centimeters in the air and cannot penetrate into your skin like X-ray.

Thorium-232 with a half-life span 14000000000 year means destructive beta and gamma radiations are negligible compared to low energy alpha particles.

6. Thorium can dissolve into rainwater.

Answer: Not true.

Thorium is insoluble in water and the risk of going into food chain is minimal.

7. Environmental pollution in China is due to rare earth plants.

Answer: Not true.

All sort of factories, vehicles and coal-powered plants are main sources of pollution in China due to lack of enforcement on waste management.

8. Thorium can cause cancer.

Answer: True.

Thorium can cause cancer if you eat or inhale it into your body. But, there are more than 1000 types of chemical toxic particulates in the smoke from the cigarette can cause cancer also.

Which source is closer to you and would cause cancer risk to you?

9. Our stadium can collapse, how we trust our government to oversee Lynas waste storage facility?

Answer: Several space shuttles, bridges and dams in America did collapse and kill hundred of people. By this weired logic from green activists and PR politicians, American government should stop carry any public project.

10. 10,000-20,000 protesters in a rally is “suara rakyat” must be listened and followed by a government.

Answer: Yes, every Malaysian has the right to express opinion openly. Whether a rally is representing the majority Malaysian is still unknown and uncertain for its non-random sampling and biasness.

Opinion is not fact, and those taking opinion as fact is disastrous to human civilization. The collective opinion of 28 million Malaysians cannot change this fact, “no object can travel faster than light speed”.

Please get the experts to study rebuttals from Lynas about anti-Lynas myths before you want to argue with me.