KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 26): Radiation levels at Lynas Malaysia Sdn Bhd’s permanent disposal facility in Bukit Ketam in Pahang have been below regulatory limits, the government said on Monday.

Radiation dose readings by the Department of Atomic Energy outside the facility were below 20 millisieverts per year as at Sept 30, Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Datuk Chang Lih Kang told the Dewan Rakyat on Monday.

Lynas has observed the limits throughout its operations since 2012, with exposure kept below one millisievert per year for members of the public and below 20 millisieverts per year for workers, he said.

The dose of radiation expected to cause death to 50% of an exposed population within 30 days ranges from 4,000 to 5,000 millisieverts received all at once, according to the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Lynas Malaysia, nevertheless, must cease generating radioactive waste by March 2031 or risk having its operating licence suspended or revoked. The requirement is among the stricter conditions imposed when Malaysia renewed its operating licence for another 10 years in March.

The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Australia-listed Lynas Rare Earths Ltd. It operates a rare earth processing facility in Gebeng, Kuantan — the largest of its kind outside China.

During the first five years, Lynas must modify its facilities to reduce the activity concentration of its water leach purification residue — wastes generated from extraction and processing of rare earth — to below one becquerel per gramme, Chang said.

The company must also continue research and development into the treatment of Water Leach Purification (WLP) residue, with the work monitored by the Department of Atomic Energy.

At the end of August, Lynas had generated 1.67 million metric tonnes of the residue, of which 1.43 million metric tonnes had been transferred to its permanent disposal facility. Construction of the facility has reached 77% with four disposal cells completed.

The cells were being filled with WLP residue, Chang added.

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