ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITY OF THE INDEPENDENT PANEL SELECTED BY THE IAEA

The expert team selected by the IAEA to undertake the review consists of nine persons.

The team will be lead by Dr Tero Varjoranta from Finland. He is the director of the Division of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology at the IAEA Department of Nuclear Energy.

External experts are Jan van der Steen (Netherlands), Dr Leo M Lowe (Canada), Dr P M Balagopala Pillai (India), Dr Dennis Wymer (UK), and Ulric Schwela (Finland).

Internal (IAEA) experts comprise Dr Magnus Vesterlind (Sweden), Dr Horst Monken Fernandes (Brazil) and Hanna Kajander (Finland), while Hiroko Raticliffe will be the administrative assistant.

All members of the panel are recognised experts in their respective disciplines and have specialist knowledge on issues relating to radiation protection, safety assessment, waste management, transportat, and decommissioning and remedial actions.

The IAEA is an independent organisation within the United Nations' framework. It works with its 151-member states and 71 inter-governmental and non-governmental organisation partners worldwide to promote safe, secure and peaceful nuclear technologies.

A key role of the IAEA is to develop and establish radiation and nuclear safety standards for worldwide adoption.

It is also the accepted international authority on best work practices on issues relating to nuclear safety, radiation protection, radioactive waste management, the transport of radioactive waste materials, and the safety of nuclear fuel facilities.

A significant portion of the IAEA's work involves providing independent and objective advice on how to achieve high levels of safety and security.

When the world's first nuclear plant accident occurred at Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania, United States in 1979, it was an IAEA expert group that was called in to review safety aspects and advise on emergency planning and response.

In 1986, when the world's worst nuclear accident took place in Chernobyl, Ukraine, the IAEA played a similar role.

More recently, when a giant tsunami hit the Fukushima power plant in Japan, the authorities there also turned to the IAEA for help.

Perhaps the most high-profile acknowledgement of IAEA's work came in the form of the Nobel Peace Prize of 2005, which was awarded to the agency and its former director-general Mohamed ElBaradei “for their efforts to prevent nuclear energy from being used for military purposes and to ensure nuclear energy for peaceful purposes is used in the safest possible way”.

The IAEA's mission today continues to focus on three areas:

> Safety and security;

> Science and technology;

> Safeguards and verification.

It promotes the safe and secure use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, and is not in the business of promoting nuclear or radiation technologies per se.

By any measure, the IAEA is clearly the most competent technical organisation to undertake this review of the Lynas project.

At Gebeng, the panel of experts will determine whether Lynas has complied with relevant international safety standards and good practices.

It will provide its expert opinion on safety issues, in particular, radiation safety.

The panel comprises four professionals from IAEA and five from IAEA member countries.

All are recognised experts in their respective disciplines, and have specialist knowledge of issues relating to radiation protection, safety assessment, waste management, transportation, and decommissioning and remedial actions. Their individual background details have already been made public.

The panel will visit Malaysia from May 29 to June 3, and will receive submissions from the public. This is a good opportunity for critics of the project to air their views.

Information credits to BERNAMA Malaysia.