Basics On Rare Earth Should Be Taught Early To Avoid Misinformation, Symposium Told

KUALA LUMPUR, May 8 (Bernama) -- The basics on rare earth elements should be taught in schools and universities to avoid misinformation on the unique minerals, a symposium was told Monday. Experts pointed out that rare earth elements are safe with proper handling despite concerns raised by the Malaysian public that they are hazardous to the people's health and environment. Radiation protection expert Christoph Wilhem said people should be educated with the basics in schools itself. "People still think that radioactivity equates to having a nuclear meltdown. You have to teach people the basics of this things in schools and universities because there is a lot of misinformation out there," he told reporters after attending the day-long International Rare Earth Symposium here Monday. Earlier, during the panel discussion, Wilhem, the head of Analytical Laboratories Safety Management Department of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology in Germany, said the radiation level of the rare earth industry was under control, and there was no concrete evidence the minerals had a significant risk on workers. "The radiation control standard of the rare earth extracting process is under control, and it has not reached the level of radiation caused by a nuclear plant, which has raised concerns among the public that it can cause cancer," he said. Meanwhile, China's Peking University Professor, Dr Yan Chun-Hua said China had developed a rare earth plant since three decades ago, which had helped raise the income of its people. However, he suggested that there should be "pre-control management" of rare earth residues to ensure that there they did not affect the people and environment. Canadian rare earth expert Alastair S. Neill said there was a need for more open and transparent public engagement between the government and the public when building a rare earth plant. "Be more open, communicative and consultative with the locals and the country as general," he suggested when asked on the Lynas Advanced Materials Plant in Gebeng, Kuantan. The symposium, aimed at disseminating factual information on rare earth processing and refining as well as exposing potential down-stream business opportunities, was attended by several parties including members of Parliament and state assemblymen, academicians and business leaders. --BERNAMA