Monday, March 4, 2013

Radioactive Waste Coming to a Road Near You




The Sydney based rare-earths mining company Lynas wants to build a refinery in Malaysia. Resistance within Malaysia from “Save Malaysia Stop Lynas” has been strong because of the “low grade radioactive waste that comes from processing rare-earth elements.

Rare earths are 17 elements that have strong magnetic and conductive properties. They are often found in radioactive ores such as thorium.

Malaysia’s government wants to proceed but the environmental risks have fueled the resistance.   

Some Malaysian legislators who support Lynas insist that all radioactive waste must be exported from Malaysia.

What will Lynas do with all that radioactive waste? The Wall Street Journal explains:

“Lynas says it intends to process the radioactive waste into other materials, such as road surfacing, diluting it.”

Majia here: The roads where I live are constantly degrading as heavy rains wash away the asphalt.  Walk along the side of any road and see how much debris is generated from road erosion. Rain water will wash this debris into streams and lowlands. 

The so-called ‘low-level’ waste will eventually end up in the eco-system and water tables.

Truly, this rush to contaminate the entire environment with radioactive waste is unbelievable.

SOURCE: Hookway, J. (2013, Feb 19) Minder Hits Mother Lode of Dissent. The Wall Street Journal, C1, C3.


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