SMSL - SLC - Himpunan Hijau Joint Press statement
Government must shut down the LAMP to investigate the fatal accident
14 December 2013
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| From left, Indera Mahkota MP Fauzi Abdul Rahman, SLC spokesperson Ali Akbar Othman, SMSL spokesperson Tan Bun Teet, Himpunan Hijau(Green Rally)spokespersons Winson Ooi and Bang Seet Ping |
SMSL, Stop Lynas groups and local members of Parliament and State Assembly men are deeply concerned with the fatal accident yesterday at the Lynas rare earth refinery plant in Gebeng (LAMP). A worker died when he fell into a pond when he was performing a routine test in the morning. Before the news was reported in the media, SMSL was tipped off from a number of sources.
Mr Tan Bun Teet, the spokesperson for SMSL said, “This is very serious. We are demanding the government to shut down the LAMP immediately and cease ALL activities in the plant until a full and comprehensive independent investigation is completed by the relevant authorities like DOSH to establish the nature and the cause/s of the fatal accident. Safer work place and a healthy environment should be in place when highly corrosive and hazardous substances are handled to protect the life and the safety of workers at the plant.”
In May last year a 34 year-old Lynas subcontractor died after a couple of months suffering from complex respiratory problems. He worked at the LAMP for over twelve months before he fell ill. (http://www.chinapress.com.my/
Later, another death was officially reported by the police to have occurred during an interview session in the plant .
“We have heard of these cases at the community level. This is the first time Lynas has actually issued a media release. The Government must come clean to disclose these cases of mishaps in fairness to those who have suffered and to the grieving families of those who have sadly departed. “ Said Ali Akbar bin Othman from the Stop Lynas Coalition (SLC).
“Obviously the trust in Lynas and the authorities are lacking which is why a citizen group like SMSL has been called up with such information. Lynas and the Government owed to the family of the victim/s and the remaining workers at the LAMP a decent standard of occupational health and safety. ” Concluded Mr Tan
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Sharing my very first blog post … so glad to have finally entered the world of the blogger! Hope you enjoy it
ReplyDeleteFatal Accident Compensation Claim
The unfortunate employee had a heart attack while performing a water sample at one of the water ponds. Can hardly blame Lynas for that. Condolences to his family.
ReplyDeleteYes, this worker had a heart attack, really sad... But you SMSL people tell the world only lies, lies over and over again.
ReplyDeleteYou destroy the life of families and their kids of the employees who work so hard for this company - shame on you.
You destroy your own future, how silly is that?
Says a lot that most comments here- on the main SMSL site- are sympathetic to Lynas!
ReplyDeleteWhatever side of this debate we're on our hearts should go out to the friends and family of this man and the other 2 who have died and have some connection to Lynas.
Let's apply some common sense here.
There have been about 300 workers onsite (construction or running the plant) over 4 years: that's 1200 person-years. Now most workers will be mid life and not as likely to die of natural causes as (say) the elderly. Let's assume a typical lifespan of 80 years and that Lynas workers are 1/4 as likely to die as the general population. Then we'd expect a total of 1/4 x 1200/80 = 3.75 deaths of Lynas workers so far without there being any excess risk from working at the LAMP. It's actually below that at 3.
Can any of the deaths be attributed to the LAMP?
1. The first was a contractor who died before any chemicals or concentrate had been loaded into the LAMP. Died in his sleep from an ongoing condition. No connection.
2. The second was at the LAMP for a job interview and had a heart attack. Virtually no exposure to the LAMP: no doubt he went to the admin block not the furnaces! If LAMP caused his death the full-time staff would be dropping like flies. No connection.
3. Reportedly this poor man suffered a heart attack, fell unconscious into a tailings pond and drowned there. He was collecting samples for environmental monitoring purposes. Of course he had access to the pond because his duties required it. I doubt any sensible OH&S arrangement could have saved this poor man. (2 person teams in case someone has a heart attack? Name a place anywhere that does this!)
Of course we need to wait for the final report on this sad death but there appears to be: no connection likely.
There's absolutely no basis for shutting down the plant over this incident.
Are Malaysians an uhealthy lot?. A lot seem to die from heart problems. Could this be due to the filthy palm oil clogging up their arteries? The poor old Orangutans are in trouble from habitat destruction and Malaysians are dying from heart disease. Perhaps you would be better off campaigning against Palm oil as this is a Very dangerous product
ReplyDeleteThanks for your information.
ReplyDeleteFatal Accident Claims.
Thanks for giving this post
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