NTN summary of Lynas radioactive tailings seepage at Mt Weld

Rare Earth Ores and Radiation Risks at

Lynas Corporation’s Mt Weld Operation

Lee Bell

November 2011

Summary
The National Toxics Network (NTN) has been investigating the potential of radioactive contamination arising from the Lynas’ rare earth concentrate plant at Mt Weld, near Laverton Western Australian. NTN is concerned a regulatory loophole is being utilised to improperly transport radioactive materials through WA suburbs to be shipped to Malaysia.

According to environmental and mining authorities in Western Australia, the waste slurry generated from the chemical processing and flotation of the rare earth ores at Lynas Corporation’s Mt Weld concentrator plant is radioactive. The radiation is primarily due to the thorium and uranium content of the ore. 

The tailings from the ore concentrator have also been deemed radioactive by the state Department of Mining and Petroleum.

NTN is extremely concerned that the concentrate will soon be transported through residential suburbs as if it were not a radioactive substance, with no identifying signage, despite being subject to a radiation management plan that has not been released for public consultation. The public and workers have a right to know about the radiation risks to which they will be exposed.
For a number of year Lynas has mined and stored stockpiles of rare earth ores (REO) at the Mt Weld mine site and graded these stockpiles according to purity and other factors. The stockpiled ore is then shipped 1.5 km to the concentrator plant where impurities are removed through chemical and flotation processes. Two major streams of material then leave the concentrator plant. 

Firstly, the product is a lanthanum oxide concentrate (which also contains a range of other rare earths) and a waste stream which is a slurry of water and process liquors contaminated with 15.8% solids including the uranium and thorium with a pH of 10.5-10.8. Secondly, the waste is then piped to large tailings ponds where the liquid fraction can evaporate over time. This has the effect of concentrating the solid fraction of radioactive materials within the tailings pond residues. This concentrating factor has not been assessed by authorities and could result in radioactivity levels many times higher than claimed in the proponent’s reports especially towards the end of the mine life. As the ponds dry out airborne dust containing radioactive particles will become a major management problem for decades to come.

Government documents have become available which indicate that Lynas Corporation failed to construct its tailings ponds according to the engineering conditions laid down in the environmental operating licence issued by the WA Department of Environment and Conservation. 

As a result Lynas has been ordered by the DEC to rebuild a small section of their tailings pond and line it with High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) as an interim measure. If Lynas had received government approvals and used the initial tailings ponds they constructed, they would have leaked at an estimated 186, 000 litres per day or over 67 million litres per annum of radioactive leachate.

The DEC Environmental Assessment Report for the concentrator plant makes it clear that Lynas Corporation failed to meet the regulatory controls and conditions put in place to prevent environmental contamination from processing rare earth ore tailings production. It also raises considerable doubt about their ability to meet waste disposal regulations and environmental protection requirements in other jurisdictions such as Malaysia. 

Radioactive tailings leakage – a licence to pollute.
The ‘tailings’ or waste material from the processing of rare earth ores at Mt Weld into a concentrate, contains 500ppm ThO₂ (Thorium Oxide) and 30ppm U₃O₈ (Uranium Oxide). The calculated radiation specific activity from this combination is 1.80 Bq/g for the Thorium and 0.32 Bq/g for the Uranium which totals 2.12 Bq/g. This is more than twice the threshold radioactivity level set by the Department of Mining and Petroleum for classification as radioactive tailings (‘radioactive’ classification is in excess of 1.0 Bq/g). This regulatory criterion occurs under the Western Australian Mines Safety and Inspection Regulations 1995.


The Tailings Storage Facility (TSF) is a 17.5 hectare paddock style impoundment constructed in two stages. The first stage was intended to take the first two years of waste followed by stage two which would see the banks raised to accommodate the future production waste.

A review of the integrity of the tailings ponds by Lynas engineering consultants Knight Piesold in 2009¹ found alarming evidence that the radioactive waste material would have been able to leak at the rate of 186,000 litres per day if the ponds had started to accept tailings. WA authorities ordered Lynas to fix their tailings facility after finding that the construction was grossly inadequate and a small tailings pond has now been lined with HDPE plastics to act as an interim waste storage pond. The remainder of the large tailing pond will now have to be re-engineered with HDPE over time.

However, even the new lined tailings facility is estimated to leak at the rate of up to 14,000 litres per day according to the Department of Environment and Conservation.² 

Far from their claims of being a clean, green industry Lynas Corporation are prepared to allow the leakage of over 5 million litres of radioactive tailings every year at the site of their concentrator plant. The concentrator plant has been operating since May 2011 and 2.5 million litres of contaminated tailings have already leaked from the facility if the Department of Environment and Conservations predictions are correct. No monitoring data from the site has been released to the public as yet.

Contradictory regulations on Transport
Lynas confirm in their Radiation Management Plan that because their “ore, concentrate and tailings contain elevated concentrators of natural thorium and uranium personal annual radiation exposures at the Mt Weld operation were predicted to be above the annual public dose limit of 1mSv per year”.³


In spite of the clear admission by Lynas Corporation that their ore, tailings and concentrate are sufficiently radioactive to exceed the annual public dose limit, they failed to take measures to sufficiently engineer their tailings pond resulting in potentially massive leakage of the radioactive waste. 


At this stage there are no clear indications as to how the concentrated tailings will be managed at the end of the ponds life or the mine’s decommissioning. Given that the ponds will be built in a hot, arid zone with little rainfall, the ponds can be expected to dry out and generate dust with radioactive particles and other heavy metals. 

Notably, Malaysia also classifies waste or radioactive materials as ‘radioactive’ when the specific radioactivity level exceeds 1.0 Bq/g. This is the reason why Lynas Corporations ‘product’ or rare earth concentrate will be regulated as radioactive material for transportation purposes, from the moment it lands in Malaysia.


Lynas Corporation have relied on an exemption loophole in the Western Australian transport regulations to allow their concentrate to be shipped from Mt Weld to Fremantle Port (nearly 1000km) without it being classified as radioactive material. The loophole allows the concentrate to be transported without Dangerous Goods classification or ‘radioactive material’ classification due to an exemption clause in the Radiation Safety (Transport of Radioactive Substances) Regulations, WA, 2002 which allows up to 10 Bq/g of specific radioactivity if the product is not destined for production to extract the radioactive elements (uranium and thorium) or if the material is not subject to chemical processing.  

This is despite the fact that the Thorium levels are much higher in the concentrate (approx 1700 ppm) giving it a specific radioactivity level between 3.5 and 8 Bq/g⁴. So even though the concentrate exceeds the level at which tailings are classified radioactive by up to eight times, and exceeds the Malaysian transport regulations by up to eight times it will not be classified ‘radioactive’ for transport purposes in Western Australia thereby disguising its true nature to the public


There will be no signage or placarding on the trucks carrying the concentrate denoting its radioactive nature. This is critical for emergency workers to make rapid decisions in the event of an accident or spill of the concentrate on public roads or at the port.

Lynas argue that the Radiation Safety (Transport of Radioactive Substances) Regulations, WA, 2002 and the ARPANSA Safe Transport of Radioactive Material Code of Practice (STRM, 2007) applies only to materials that are not chemically processed or intended for the extraction of the radionuclides. However, the processing of concentrate at Mt Weld involves the use of at least 5 chemicals which contradicts their claim that they are subject to an exemption from the transport regulations. 

Indeed Lynas Corporation’s Environmental Impact Assessment⁵ documents for their rare earth processing plant in Malaysia state; “The Advanced Materials Project involves processing lanthanide concentrate from Mt Weld in Western Australia, at a processing site that uses chemical treatment processes.”

Further it can be argued that the Lynas Advanced Materials Plant (LAMP) in Malaysia will process the material to extract the radioactive elements uranium and thorium as well as other impurities. The impurities will then be dumped as part of the LAMP waste stream in Malaysia. As such the exemption from radioactive transport requirements in WA appears to be based on proponent assurances rather than sound science.
Contact : Lee  Bell BA MA (ESD)

Australia National Toxic Network media release 28 November 2011

Lynas Corporation granted ‘permit to pollute’ with radioactive waste

Controversial rare earth manufacturer Lynas Corporation has been granted a licence by the Department of Environment and Conservation (DEC) that will allow the company to store radioactive slurry in ponds
that will leak over 5 million litres of radioactive waste per annum, the National Toxics Network said today.

“This ‘permit to pollute’ comes on the back of the discovery by the DEC that the original tailings ponds built by Lynas would leak an astonishing 186,000 litres per day or, 67 million litres of contaminated waste per annum” said Lee Bell, NTN spokesperson.

The ponds are situated at the Lynas Concentrator plant at Mt Weld near Laverton.

“Rare earth ores from the Mt Weld mine undergo chemical processing at the plant with radioactive waste slurry from the process being dumped in ponds. The DEC refused to allow Lynas to dump their waste until
they had constructed a smaller lined pond specifically for waste disposal” Mr Bell said.

“Lynas have admitted in their Radiation Management Plan that their ore, concentrate and waste are sufficiently radioactive to be above the annual public dose limit of 1mSv per year. Despite this the DEC
will let them use ponds that will leak up to 5 million litres per year of radioactive tailings waste” said Mr Bell.

“The Department of Mines and Petroleum have declared that the Lynas waste slurry must be managed as radioactive tailings due to its thorium and uranium content yet the concentrate, which has much higher
radioactivity will not be transported as radioactive material - despite earlier approvals requiring this higher level of regulation.

Malaysia will also require the Lynas concentrate to be transported as a radioactive material as soon as it lands” Mr Bell said.

 “This is in stark contrast to public statements by Lynas that their product is so low in radiation that it does not need to be transported as a radioactive material when it is shipped through WA and Fremantle
Ports. The public are being hoodwinked and government agencies are supporting this deception,” said Mr Bell

NTN calls on the Western Australian government to stop the leakage at Mt Weld and ban any shipments of the Lynas concentrate until an independent assessment of the radiation risks of Lynas concentrate is
made public.

Lynas’ Leaky Project

Lynas’ Mt Weld Plant Leaking Toxic Waste

Save Malaysia Stop Lynas Committee (SMSL) has been informed by the Australian watch group National Toxic Network that Lynas’s Western Australia’s (WA) Mt Weld tailing ponds would leak an astonishing 186,000 litres of radioactive waste per day or, 67 million litres of contaminated waste per annum.

The WA Department of Environment and Conservation DEC has refused to allow Lynas to dump their waste until they had constructed a lined pond specifically for waste disposal.

“It is indeed a shocking discovery that Lynas would dare to do this knowing full well it would not be acceptable in Australia.” Says Mr Tan Bun Teet, Chairman of SMSL.

However, even the new lined tailings facility is estimated to leak at the rate of up to 14,000 litres per day according to the Department of Environment and Conservation.

Government’s Duty of Care to Exercise Prudence
SMSL calls on the Government to suspend the construction of the Lynas Advanced Material Plant (LAMP) and institute a full-scale independent engineering audit.

Since expose in the New York Times in late June of the LAMP’s serious design flaws and shonky construction, there has not been any official investigation or independent audit to ensure that Lynas has properly rectify the problems to ensure plant safety and adequate environmental management measures are in place.

Lynas’ persistent recalcitrant behaviour is of great concern and a big risk to public health and safety.  If the LAMP is allowed to operate in this condition, serious contamination problems will ensue risking the entire economy and well beings of the local people and Malaysia as a whole.
It is time the government exercise prudence in the interest of public safety, the sustainability of our important environmental resources and for the sake of our long-term economic health. We call on the Government to use its power to fully and thoroughly investigate the various issues which have surfaced to date.

To date, the public has not been consulted on the project and its long-term waste management plan is unclear although these are two of the key recommendations specified by the IAEA agreed to both by the Malaysian Government and Lynas as requirements to comply with before the pre-operating licence is issued.

MITI 30th November visit to the LAMP
SMSL had earlier requested a joint visit with independent experts and MITI to inspect the Lynas plant in Gebeng in December. Unfortunately, MITI insisted on a visit for the 30th November which will coincide with Lynas’ Annual General Meeting in Sydney.

SMSL is concern that Lynas will be using the plant visit for its badly needed public relation exercise to allay growing fear and concerns amongst its shareholders.  Lynas’ survival is dependent on its shareholders’ confidence.  It is clear that Lynas has largely invested in shareholder and investors relation than community relation and plant safety, least of all its waste management strategy.

“In the public interest and to restore public confidence in the Government to effectively manage the LAMP, we urge the Government to stop all construction activities until a full-scale independent investigation and audit are carried out and rectified.”

“This is the only way the public will have faith in the Government to act responsibly and with the appropriate sense of duty of care.  It will go a long way to restore Malaysia’s image as a matured emerging economy.” Concludes Mr Tan

Lynas, A Recalcitrant Corporation

How long is the Government prepared to tolerate Lynas Corporation’s recalcitrant behaviour?

Earlier this month, Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed slammed Lynas Corporation for “jumping the gun” by repeatedly pre-empting the government approval through giving unrealistically early start dates for the controversial Lynas Advance Materials Plant (LAMP) near Kuantan.

Datuk Mustapa’s statement was clear. He said “They have no business to pre-empt the (Atomic Energy Licensing) board. No business at all to issue these kind of statements and we have reprimanded them,”

Not only that Lynas has not shown any remorse of restraint, it has once again spit on our Government’s face through its latest media stunt. In its attempt to boost its investors’ and shareholders’ confidence leading up to its Nov 30th AGM in Sydney, Lynas has YET again pre-empted the issuing of the pre-operating licence and projected an early production date for its LAMP.

“This is an affront the Malaysian Government.” Said Dr Phua, Vice Chairman for SMSL.

“Clearly, we have just witnessed how blatantly arrogant Lynas is. It has no respect for our government and the people of Malaysia. How can we risk our future with this company?” added Dr Phua.

SMSL has the following critical questions for the government:

“How can our government tolerate this kind of behaviour and disrespect?”
“If Lynas disregards our Government’s warning now, how can we trust that it will not be even more defiant and arrogant once the operating licence is issued?
“Is MB Adnan Yaakob trying to race the Pahang economy to be in par with the Greek financial crisis by agreeing to use state funds to purchase houses from residents worrying about the rare earth project?”

“By continuing to tolerate Lynas’ defiance, Malaysian is showing up our own weakness and compromising our sovereign rights to enforce law and order. The people of Malaysia have genuine concerns about the Lynas project. The government needs to act with prudence and exercise its duty of care for its citizens by going hard on Lynas, not to tolerate insults from a foreign company.”

“The government should show Lynas we mean business and that we have the means to determine if the plant is up to scratch to operate. The government must halt the construction of the LAMP whilst facilitate an independent team of engineers and experts with the relevant skills and experience to audit the LAMP. Only that will help us restore some confidence in our government.”

Last week, Lynas pressed the Government to issue a 2-year pre-operating licence despite not having presented a safe and effective long-term management plan acceptable to all. To date, the public has not been consulted even though this is one of the conditions Lynas need to fulfil to get its licence.

So far, Lynas has not come up with a satisfactory long-term waste management plan as recommended by the IAEA and agreed to by the Malaysian Government. Issuing a pre-operating licence now will mean the Government has turned its back on the IAEA, rendering the already weak safeguard ineffective in protecting the nation’s own future and safety.

Lynas by asking for a pre-operating licence when all it has built is 3 open ponds to store the radioactive hazardous waste is an insult to our intelligence and safety standard.

In Australia, Lynas would not have been allowed to build the plant without an approved waste management plan.

In Australia, the LAMP as it is would have been closed down and any approval issued previously withdrawn by the government for breaches of state and federal laws!

Is our life in Malaysian worth less than the Australians for Lynas to behave so badly and so arrogantly in Malaysia?

Shonky Construction of the LAMP

Further, the public has no way of knowing if the plant is safe since the revelation in the late June New York Times article that rushed deadline has resulted in shonky construction and serious structural defects.

“Given the corrosive substances involved in rare earth processing, any construction defect will lead to serious leaks and contamination problems.”

“The Government must carry out a full independent engineering audit of the plant before even attempting to consider the licensing issue.”

“We simply cannot trust Lynas to do the right thing.” Concluded Dr Phua.

The revelation and expose by Lynas’ own insiders to the New York Times are serious problems which would affect the reliability and safety of the LAMP.

Only a full independent engineering audit will be able to uncover all of the problems. We fear that Lynas would continue to flaunt basic engineering procedure and lower the safety standard in its race to produce rare earth oxides to capture its market share.

“What we have on our backyard is the world’s largest rare earth plant with a massive waste problem to tackle and pollution risks. This is not to be overlooked by either the authorities or the people.

Two of our country’s most esteemed professional bodies – the MMA and the Bar Council – have both publicly issued warnings to the Government on this project. They do not do this lightly as they have a duty of care for the people and for our country, just like us ordinary citizens who also have our duty of care for our country and our family and ourselves.”

Supporters of the Stop Lynas campaign will be staging a peaceful action at the Lynas AGM in Sydney on 30th November from 10.00am to noon.

We hope to use this platform to explain to shareholders of Lynas why we are so strongly opposed to this rare earth plant in our backyard.

We will urge shareholders of Lynas Corporation to re-assess their investment risks and divest from Lynas.

Press Statement - Kuantan 11th November 2011

“1311 For Our Family - Whack a piñata" event, 13/11/11, 7.30am-9.30am at Taman Gelora

Save Malaysia Stop Lynas (SMSL) to introduce a new interpretation of the piñata to mark residents’ strong opposition of the Lynas rare earth project.

On Sunday 13th November 2011 at Taman Gelora, a family day will be held with an early morning line dancing follow by the “Whack a piñata” action and the signing of a pledge to do what it takes to stop the Lynas project.

Why piñata ?

Traditionally, a piñata is a papier-mâché that is filled with goodies and then broken as part of a ceremony in Mexico and many Latin-American countries. On Sunday, 26 colourful and stunningly handmade piñatas will be hung up at various locations around the lake for this ritual. Participants will take turn to whack the piñata to symbolise their anger and frustration towards the Lynas rare earth project. Samples of thes piñatas will be shown at the press conference today.

“This Sunday is a family day for mums and dad, grandparents and kids to take part in healthy activities in the beautiful surrounding of Taman Gelora” says Mr Tan Bun Teet,Chairman of SMSL.

“The clean air and beautiful surrounding of Taman Gelora is a reminder of what a lovelyplace Kuantan is. We cannot afford to simply sit back to let a foreign company ruined our future and the good life we have work so hard for.”

It has been nearly eight months since residents learnt about the construction of the world’s largest rare earth plant at the Gebeng industrial site in March of this year from the New York Times. SMSL was formed soon after in response to the fear and the public outcry to provide a platform for ordinary citizens – mums and dads and local businesses as well as professionals - to campaign to protect our beloved homeland from being contaminated by dangerous toxic waste of the Lynas plant.

Since then, SMSL together with other groups have concertedly staged regular protest actions and engaged with the media, politicians and authorities both in Malaysia and in Australia. Tens of thousands of people have taken part to show their opposition to the project to date and the movement is growing in Pahang and around the country as well as in Peoples’ power has so far managed to force the Government to take a closer look into the hazards and risks of the plant and the issuing of the operating licence has been delayed as a result. Until people turned up in force and in numbers, the authorities were complacent.

Earlier this year, the director-general of the Atomic Energy Licensing Board (AELB) Raja Datuk Abdul Aziz Raja Adnan had merely repeated Lynas’ public relation spin that the waste from the Lynas rare earth plant is so safe that it can be scattered everywhere. The AELB had once said the now closed Mitsubishi Asian Rare Earth plant in Bukit Merah, Perak was safe too, even with abnormally high number of fatal leukemia cases, birth defects and other health problems in the nearby towns.

Likewise the Menteri Besar of Pahang had said that the radiation from the rare earth ore was far weaker than that of mobile phones, completely ignoring the long term problem, health hazards and the risk pose by millions of tonnes of waste that would be left by the rare earth plant in all states – solid, liquid and gas. Each year, the amount of solid waste alone is enough to fill 126 standard Olympic size swimming pools! This waste will remain hazardous from the radioactive thorium and uranium as well as the range of by-products resulting from the use of highly concentrated acids and other corrosive substances in the processing of rare earth concentrate.

One wonders if the MB is aware that millions of tonnes of waste water will be discharged into our waters potentially polluting our riverine, mangrove and marine ecosystems contaminating our seafood and lovely coastline and the South China Sea. On top of that, the plant will be emitting huge amount of waste gas into our atmosphere, posing additional risks of acid rain with radioactive particles. The Malaysian regulators and authorities seemed to be ignorant of the scientific fact that radioactive particles from the various waste streams will enter the natural environment. Low radioactive particles tended to accumulate within organism in the ecosystem and they will find their way into the food chain and hence to the general population. This concern is real and urgent because thorium has a half-life of 14 billion years which means the radioactive particles will be hazardous and dangerous for as long as the human lifespan on earth!

At a time when coastal and marine tourism are beginning to gain some grounds in Pahang,the Lynas rare earth project has essentially halted any hope of further development in ecotourism and in the high-end tourism sector which are friendly to the natural environment whilst helping to boost small to medium scale local businesses and services vital to the livelihoods and income generation for the majority of the people.

Yet we find the Chairman of the Pahang Tourism, Arts, Heritage and Family Development Committee, Datuk Shafik Fauzan quoted in Sinar Harian in October 24th alleging that SMSL should focus on picking rubbish and not picking on the Lynas rare earth project! One wonders if Datuk Shafik truly understands the implication and impact of the Lynas project on tourism and family for him to make such a statement. He should be on SMSL’s side to fight for the integrity of the tourism industry. After all who will want to spend money to come to holiday near the world’s largest rare earth plant?

In consideration of the range of hazards and risks, the best solution to keep Kuantan and the surrounding towns and our environment as well as food clean and safe is to get rid of the plant. After all, it was constructed without our knowledge let alone our free prior informed Why should we the citizens shoulder the burden of proof and the risks when the entire project benefits primarily a foreign corporation? The granting of the 12-year tax break is most puzzling and worrying when the country needs all the revenue we can collect to progress. Why should the Lynas Corporation enjoy a pioneer status when we already had a
costly and nasty experience with the now shut-down Asian Rare Earth plant?

The recent revelation by the AELB that Lynas Corporation has failed to meet any of the conditions set out by the Government is a step in the right direction. It is a stark contrast to Raja Datuk Aziz’s earlier careless dismissal of public concern. Similarly, Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed, Minister for International Trade and Industry (MITI) has very recently slammed Lynas Corporation for pre-empting the government by repeatedly project unrealistic early start dates in the media for its Gebeng rare earth plant.

Clearly, Lynas Corporation has proven itself to be a recalcitrant company that have consistently misled its shareholders and potential customers on the progress of its plant against advice by the Malaysian authorities and against the reality on the ground. Why then is our Government allowing the plant construction to be continued?

How can we trust such a corporation to operate a plant that will produce so much hazardous waste when it is already not facing up with its home truth? How can we trust our government to be vigilant when it has continued to tolerate Lynas’ risky modus operandi?

How can Lynas take us seriously when our Government has done nothing to show Lynas Corporation that we mean business by putting an immediate stop to its construction when it failed to meet government’s requirement?!

It is on these bases that SMSL has to continue to do our duty to keep the public informed and to keep creating democratic space for ordinary citizens, mums and dads to take part in legitimate activities to show their concerns.

SMSL fear this Sunday’s action may well be given the same treatment as the 109 Himpunan Hijau gathering with the government deploying large force of tax payers funded security forces to stop ordinary citizens and their family from taking part in a community event with a legitimate message to keep dangerous project out of our country.

Already we have been informed of empty tents being set up at Taman Gelora to take away public space and to create excuse for the authority to stop the 1311 event. We also heard that the police force has recalled all its personnel from their leave in preparation for the Sunday event.

Why are our hard earned taxes being used to safeguard a foreign corporation’s interest when in the end our taxes will be needed to clean up and manage any accident and dangerous pollution from the plant?

How can the state apparatus funded by our own taxes be used to safeguard Lynas’ interests in a supposedly democratic nation such as Malaysia?

SMSL cannot afford to do nothing. Doing nothing now will lead to the demise of the lovely city of Kuantan leaving a toxic legacy for the future generations and a costly burden for all Malaysians. If Lynas is allowed to proceed despite our strong opposition and show of strength, we will be sending a message to the dirty polluting industry the world over that Malaysia is a haven for toxic projects with lax environmental law enforcement. This is a dangerous message to be sending out when industrialised nations are forced to
drastically cut their greenhouse gas emissions and shelved their nuclear plans. They will not be any shortage of dirty polluting projects looking for a home to park tax-free under lax environmental conditions. We simply cannot allow Malaysia to become their haven!

“All of our active members and supporters love Kuantan dearly. They have toiled and work hard to build their homes here and they want a clean and safe future for their family and their children and grandchildren.”

“They will and have pledged to do everything possible to stop the Lynas rare earth project.” Concludes Mr Tan.

Thousands of local people have already signed a pledge to do whatever it takes to stop the Lynas project. Many thousands more will join with time.

SMSL will continue act as a voice of the people to tell the Government and Lynas Corporation that the rare earth plant has no place in Malaysia.

“天快亮了，你醒来了吗？”组稿五，完结篇

不要毁灭了我们孩子的未来。发挥群众力量，只要1个家庭派出至少1位成员参与，谁也不能将我们赶走！

“拯救大马委员会”（SMSL）为配合11月13日上午7时30分在关丹哥罗乐公园举行的《一心一意护家园》活动而推出的《天快亮了，你醒来了吗？ 》系列文章，以文字摇撼你的心灵，与你一起醒着迎来天明！

“天亮了，起身吧！是时候让我成为争取我应得的权益一份子而不是总是让别人为我争取。”

明天晚上，也许你有很多事情要做，要出席亲戚朋友的婚宴，要开会，陪家人吃晚餐，要与另一半看电影，但请在办完事后记得在入睡前设定闹钟，可能的话请早些上床休息，因为后天你要早早起身，到哥罗乐公园参加你之前已在心里决定参加的“一心一意护家园”活动。

你的出席会令这项活动更具意义，因为，你用行动告诉自己，告诉世界：我来了，我来决定我自己的命运，我的家园我作主。

不论你是小贩、商家、教师、学生、记者、经理、书记、劳工、女佣、家庭主妇、退休人士、讲师、渔夫、农民、推销员、律师、医生、司机、胶工还是店员等等，只要你想在太阳底下活得堂堂正正、开开心心，你就得站出来争取你与生俱来的应得权益、没有人可以任意残踏和夺走的权益。

为了捍卫这些权益，天亮时，你与家人和朋友一起到哥罗乐公园，与热爱和平与绿色世界，不要公害和Lynas稀土厂的人士相聚，大家一起在公园呼吸新鲜空气，一起挥捧痛击现场的象征稀土恶魔的巨球，告诉世界你向公害说不，说No，说Tidak。

是你行动的时候了，因为稀土厂已经快要建好了，也快要操作了，你不能再等了，你也没有时间再等了，所以你必须勇敢地站出来表明心志，清清楚楚地说：请禁止Lynas稀土提炼厂，请尊重生命共同体，请让我们的明天依然美好！

你可以通过活动亲自向稀土厂说不，为何不这么做呢？你可以穿上标示反对稀土的黑黄色战衣出席，为何不这么做呢？你可以与大家一起保卫家园， 让你的青春不留白，让你的生命更精彩，为何不这么做呢？

天快亮了，快起身吧！天亮时走出屋外，向太阳说哈啰，早安，向关丹说我爱你，向家人说我要亲自保护你，然后到哥罗乐公园，狠狠地挥棒痛击稀土恶魔：我不要你Lynas，滚蛋吧！
然后，告诉你自己：亲爱的关丹，亲爱的家人，我已尽了一份力量，将来我也会继续争取我的权益和保护你。

关丹人，这两个晚上，让我们一起好好想一想吧！

“天快亮了，你醒来了吗？”组稿四

 守株待兔还是挺身而出？ 他们选择了后者。

“拯救大马委员会”（SMSL）为配合11月13日上午7时30分在关丹哥罗乐公园举行的《一心一意护家园》活动而推出的《天快亮了，你醒来了吗？ 》系列文章，以文字摇撼你的心灵，与你一起醒着迎来天明！

“回顾我们努力争取禁止Lynas稀土厂操作的过程与成就”

天亮了，该是梦醒的时候了。三天后的哥罗乐公园，依然会有太阳升出海面，依然会有清风走过湖面，依然会有爱好和平和绿色生活的人们留下的痕迹。

爱好和平和绿色生活的人也是你啊！你也可以将你的足迹留在哥罗乐公园，因为痕迹也可以是历史，可以让你的生命散发光芒，让你的人生更加富盛啊！要让自己记载在历史之中，你必须也回顾一下历史……

Lynas稀土厂计划经纽约时报报导至今，已经迈入第8个月了。拯救大马委员会就在报导刊出不久成立，少了该会与其他组织及广大民众的反稀土决心和奋斗，Lynas可能已经投入运作了。

委员会从三月份开始每月举办醒觉活动，参与反稀土的自愿人士都是一些你可以在街头巷尾见到的普通人，他们和你一样拥有对自己与家人，甚至对周遭人具有的高度责任心。

 5月8日他们在关丹直落尖不辣海演举办508母亲节活动，五月20日他们到吉隆波澳洲大使馆展开和平请愿，6月19日他们又在哥罗乐公园聚首庆祝父亲节，当时还与你一起表达反稀土的意愿。

6月26日，他们与你一起登上柏灵东山；7月24日他们结伴反稀土人土到关丹河畔品尝椰浆饭，并将活动称为Nasi Lemak Together；上月月9反稀土的他们又参加了维护地球宪章的绿色盛会。

这些活动，你参与了吗? 参与过多少次呢？也许都参加了，也许一次都没有，但没关系，只要你愿意，你随时可以在天亮时站出，在太阳底下告诉全世界：你来了。

有位朋友说过，每一次一定都要去参加反稀土活动啊！拍下一张照片留念，让孩子们长大后看看他们的父母是多么用心用力争取他们的美好明天！拯救大马委员会也举办成立与筹募法律行动基金晚宴， 会员也两度远征澳洲悉尼和西澳寻求解决方案。

此外，委员会也推动黑黄彩带活动，将每个周六订为反稀土厂日，呼吁市民穿上黑色的反稀土战衣，表达坚决反对的意愿，另外开茶会分享鲜为人知的稀土祸害资讯，举办下乡醒觉活动，挨家挨户派发传单，邀请专家与稀土受害者讲解稀土的祸害与分享向公害说不的经验。
一位市民曾经说过，她在15岁那年，被外婆牵着手上街示威，来自霹雳州红坭山的的她为了停止当时已经带来悲剧的亚洲稀土厂运作被迫走上街头。

没想到若干年后，同样事件发生在关丹！ 30年后，她看到的是她的弟媳带着孩子参与反Lynas的反公害运动，这令她百感交集：执政者显然没有从红坭山悲剧中吸取任何教训及反省。

明天，让我们告诉自己：让我也成为争取我应得权益的一份子，我不要老让别人来为我争取。

拯救大马委员会： 天亮組稿三

图为志工们协力筹备活动，以行动抗争到底。

退休老伯不分昼夜都来赶工

11月6号下午， 部分的 pinata 已经出炉

拯救大马委员会"（SMSL）为配合11月13日上午7时30分在关丹哥罗乐公园举行的《一心一意护家园》活动而推出的《天快亮了，你醒来了吗？》系列文章，以文字摇撼你的心灵，与你一起醒着迎来天明！

"天快亮了，你醒来了吗？"组稿三

不搬迁选择要付的代价

天亮了，不论外面是晴是雨是暖是冷，你都得睁开眼睛，在太阳底下生活下去。
是的，在太阳底下生活下去。太阳不会背弃你，打从你呱呱堕地，它就一直跟隋你度过生命的每一天，而我们期待天亮，就是要见到太阳在头顶运转，看到运转中流出的希望，有希望就会有明天，我们都希望有明天，美好的明天。

周国全之所以选择在情况最坏的时候离开关丹，就是要像追逐太阳的夸父那样追逐希望，他说他这一生没有多少个30年好过，要在30年后告别一个居住了30年的家园，他会心碎，换你也一样。
不搬迁行吗？行，当然行，因为选择在你，但你可得为这项决定付出代价，而代价又涵盖多个层面，从人文到经济，再从社会到健康，林林总总，不一而足。

有人或许会说，他的生活与Lynas公司到来之前没有什么不同，他也没有特别感受到灾难来临的气息，他看到的只是大家都在努力地反对稀土厂，让平静的关丹多了热闹的氛围，但他绝对知道，这是他能够保有的短暂平静与幸福。

一旦稀土厂投入运作，他就会看到他目前享有的平静与幸福迅速逆转，关丹、巴洛、甘马挽、甘孟、林明、文德甲、直凉及远在百哩外的地区都会受到影响，而关丹及巴洛一带的70万民众将会首当其冲。

届时，他的健康不只会在稀土生产过程和出现纰漏时受到威胁，也会在各种人为疏忽和天灾人祸中，因天然资源和空气受到污染而受到损害。更甚的是，他的财物也和生命一样会难逃一劫。

红泥山的血淋淋事实告诉我们：亚洲稀土厂操作后孕妇诞下畸形儿，居民染患癌症，农业及畜牧业受到影响，美满家庭一夜变色，家破人亡的悲剧不断上演......他能幸免吗？

还有，他甘心让自己花了大半辈子打拼累积下来的财富贬值吗？他的生意、工作和投资能够顺利吗？他与家人大半辈子拥有的天然美景还会有人来欣赏?

山川河流的水还安全吗？海产没问题吗？燕子都希望回到他提供的巢穴吗？

这一切，都要在我们醒着时候好好思考，天亮时，我们醒着走出屋外，到太阳底下站起来就对了，我们有绝对的权利站在自己的家园，站在太底下阳底下，只要我们在天亮时醒着。

明天，与你一起回顾拯救大马委员会努力争取禁止Lynas稀土厂的操作的过程与成就。

拯救大马委员会 : 天亮組稿二

周国全早年的全家副。后右一 为年轻的周国全。

拯救大马委员会"（SMSL）为配合11月13日上午7时30分在关丹哥罗乐公园举行的《一心一意护家园》活动而推出的《天快亮了，你醒来了吗？》系列文章，以文字摇撼你的心灵，与你一起醒着迎来天明！

"天快亮了，你醒来了吗？"组稿二

周国全一家为了躲避稀土辐射祸害而在30年前离开老家，纵使万般不舍，他还是必须挥泪与家乡的亲人道别，也必须将他的心从家乡搬到关丹，将它安顿到新的地方。

今天，周国全像许许多关丹人一样，每天都在为充实自己的生活而忙碌，你若在街上遇到他，不妨停下脚步与他喝杯咖啡，在茶室聆听他叙述那段令人心酸的过去。

若时间允许，你也可以与他针对搬迁问题交换意见，他是30年前稀土祸害的受害人，30年后的今天，他的命运也与你一样，即将成为另一场稀土祸害的受害者。

也许有人会认为，周国全一家在30年前所做选择，促成他今天与孩子会商后，决定在情况最坏时再度舍弃家园的念头，事实上，这是他与家人最无奈和最痛苦的选择。

可是，搬家能解决稀土祸害问题吗？也许，对30年前的周国全和家人来说，答案是肯定，但解决的部份只是家人的健康问题，解决不了的是他与家人对故乡的情感问题，还有与父母兄弟分散的问题。

他离开老家之后，亚洲稀土厂仍然继续操作，不断地威胁红坭山一带居民的健康，并为当地的社会和经济结构带来无法弥补的伤害，摧毁不少美满的家庭，夺走不少宝贵的性命。

周国全做梦也没有想到，他在30年前做出的选择，保住一家人的健康，但却无法继续保住他们享有的无公害环境，30年前的恶梦又在30年后纠缠着他，恶梦也同样纠缠着你。

即便你搬到新山、芙蓉、槟城、吉隆坡、哥打峇鲁或国内任何一个你想去的地方，只要公害问题继续受到忽略、生命共同体继续不受尊重的话，难保30年或3年后你的新家不会再度受到公害侵袭，你与家人及居地民众的健康也难保不会受到威胁。

你到时是否也像周国全一样，选择再度搬家呢？你到时是否能够告诉自己和家人，你在30年前或3年前做出错误的选择呢？你到底有错吗？倘若没有错，那到底是哪里出错而让你受到如此痛苦的惩罚？

明天，天一亮就告诉你不搬迁的选择要付出的代价，但愿你看了仍然可以像平时那样拥抱美梦入睡，并在天亮时醒过来。

醒来，是时候了！

拯救大马委员会： 天亮組稿一

拯救大马委员会"（SMSL）为配合11月13日上午7时30分在关丹哥罗乐公园举行的《一心一意护家园》活动而推出的《天快亮了，你醒来了吗？》系列文章，以文字摇撼你的心灵，与你一起醒着迎来天明！

"天快亮了，你醒来了吗？"组稿一

提起居住在阿亦布爹的周国全，相信关心稀土祸害的民众都不会对他感到陌生，因为他曾因反对稀土厂而与于今年5月声泪俱下呼吁：请收回让Lynas稀土厂运作的成命，不要让关丹变成死城！
周国全于30年前从霹雳州万里望搬来关丹，他当时离家的唯一理由是躲避亚洲稀土厂带来的幅射祸害，没想到30年后却在关丹面对相同的问题。

"我们一家被稀土逼散，父母留守老家，兄弟分别去了怡保、吉隆坡和新加坡，而我也与妻儿来到平静的关丹定居。"

离开老家时，稀土厂所在地红坭山的居民展开了壮烈的反稀土抗争，居民经过长达10年的奋斗，才在1994年逼使亚洲稀土厂关闭，但稀土的祸害却已夺走和损害不少生灵的性命。
周国全曾在抗争期间回到老家探望父亲，亲眼目睹稀土厂对居民的毒害。他记老家有人牧牛，牛只都因吃了稀土厂附近的草而死亡。

Lynas在格滨设厂提炼稀土令举家避祸的周国全面对另一场梦魇，也令他与家人面对重大和痛苦的抉择：重新弃家逃亡，即便人生没有多才个30年。

"我不要看到红坭山的历史在这里重演，我在30年前看到当地的孕妇不断诞下畸形孩子、小孩罹患心脏有孔症、村民罹患癌症或白血病，以及老人血管阻塞的案例。我不要家人和关丹民众遭受这些祸害。"

今天，周国全已经与孩子商议好，让孩子自行去留，而他与妻子也可能会在情况最坏时搬去槟城与女儿同住。

他说：有国才有家，有家才有国，要搬家不难，难就难在搬家之后心要住在哪里？他在关丹住了30 年，对关丹一草一木持有的深厚感情，将在搬家后对他的心灵进行无情的鞭笞。

周国全的故事在网络广传，也在关民众的心中发酵。他的痛苦，来自对环境、生态及人文的呵护。他问道：政府值得为了眼前利益，牺牲后代人的健康幸福吗？

作为关丹一份子，我们也在问着相同的问题，毕竟，人民的健康和利高高于一切。
明天，让我们来思考一个逻辑问题。