Remove the politics when dealing with the Lynas issue

The Lynas plant in Gebeng, Kuantan. Lynas Malaysia will seek to voluntarily implement the Review Committee

TO understand the Lynas issue, it is worthwhile to understand several concepts. There are naturally occurring radioactive elements in the environment. They are present in the soil, rocks and even in our gardens, albeit in small quantities. These naturally occurring radioactive elements partly contribute to background radiation.

Lynas digs up soil in Australia and extracts the rare earth elements in Malaysia. After extraction, the residue naturally contains small quantities of radioactive elements. This is not specific to Lynas; it also occurs with other types of mining, and in the oil and gas industry. Somehow these other industries have been left off the hook of stringent reviews.