KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) -- About 300 Malaysians have staged a peaceful protest against plans for an Australian-built rare earth refinery amid fears of radioactive pollution.
The plant being built by Australian miner Lynas in eastern Malaysia could curtail China's monopoly on the global supply of rare earths for making high-tech goods.
Protesters including opposition lawmakers marched Friday from Kuala Lumpur's Petronas Twin Towers to a street near the Australian High Commission. Some carried banners that read "Go back to Australia" and "Malaysia not a radioactive waste dump site."
Lynas says the plant will have state-of-the art contamination controls. It is meant to refine slightly radioactive ore from Western Australia. The International Atomic Energy Agency is helping Malaysia investigate whether there would be any risks.
The plant being built by Australian miner Lynas in eastern Malaysia could curtail China's monopoly on the global supply of rare earths for making high-tech goods.
Protesters including opposition lawmakers marched Friday from Kuala Lumpur's Petronas Twin Towers to a street near the Australian High Commission. Some carried banners that read "Go back to Australia" and "Malaysia not a radioactive waste dump site."
Lynas says the plant will have state-of-the art contamination controls. It is meant to refine slightly radioactive ore from Western Australia. The International Atomic Energy Agency is helping Malaysia investigate whether there would be any risks.