[PSA] Why is Bauxite dangerous to us?

Malaysian bauxite rush brings wealth, and worries

BUKIT GOH: Malaysian farmer Surin Beris’s palm plantation has been razed and bulldozers are tearing into its red soil, releasing potentially hazardous dust into the environment -- yet he couldn’t be happier.

Surin, 67, is reaping a windfall from a modern-day gold rush in Malaysia’s sleepy rural state of Pahang for the high-grade bauxite that lies in its ruddy soil.

Demand for bauxite, which is used in aluminium production, is soaring -- fuelled by heavy demand from China.

The boom is a “gift from Allah”, said Surin, a Muslim in a bright white skullcap who previously made about RM2,000 per month cultivating the plum-sized fruit that is squeezed to make palm oil.

“I made a million ringgit in less than six months. I thank the Almighty for being so generous,” he said.

Bauxite mining took off in Malaysia shortly after Indonesia, a top producer, banned mineral ore exports in January 2014 to encourage domestic metals processing, leaving major consumers like China in a supply crunch.

Malaysia has helped filled the gap. Previously an insignificant producer, there has been a sharp rise in mining, most of it illegal like Surin’s.

Malaysian bauxite output more than quadrupled year-on-year in 2014, to nearly 963,000 metric tons, according to government figures, and is expected to rise.

Pillaging the land

But critics warn the mining is being done amateurishly and with little or no government attention to potential environmental harm.

Bauxite mining can release carcinogenic heavy metals such as strontium, cesium and other harmful substances, as well as low levels of radiation.

Since it generally lies just below the surface, extraction involves stripping off topsoil, leaving exposed pits.

In Pahang, where the landscape is dominated by tropical forests and agriculture, red dust swirls around the pits and along the roads on which bauxite-laden trucks rumble toward the port of Kuantan on the South China Sea, where the ore is shipped to China.

Critics fear heavy metals could enter the water supply or food chain, affecting communities for years.

Environmentalists say local rivers and the shores along Kuantan are frequently stained red from mining run-off, and residents complain of a rise in respiratory problems and skin rashes.

“My four-year-old granddaughter is in pain because she cannot breathe properly. We inhale dust everyday,” complained Manap Muda, a village head near Kuantan who said authorities were turning a blind eye.

Fuziah Salleh, a Kuantan opposition parliament member, said legal loopholes allow small landowners to mine without approval and that many were “raping the land for profit”.

“The people are greedy and are making massive money at the expense of public health,” she said.

The government has begun to admit a problem.

Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar, the natural resources and environment minister, gave AFP a government report stating that “high concentrations” of hazardous substances were found in water samples taken in August from the Pengorak river, near bauxite mining areas and Kuantan.

“Our findings showed that there was aluminium, arsenic, mercury, and manganese. The mining activity worsened the water quality,” he said in an interview. The river has been rendered unfit for drinking, irrigation, swimming or fish, the report said.

Let the good times roll

Malaysia’s six-decade-old ruling coalition is routinely accused of paying inadequate attention to the environmental and social side effects of the harvesting of the country’s rich resources.

Timber exploitation, for example, is a key source of political funding that helps sustain the coalition but which environmentalists say has contributed to the decimation of once-majestic rainforests.

Mohamad Soffi Abdul Razak, chair of the Pahang state government’s environment committee, dismissed the health and environment fears, saying authorities intend to let the good times roll.

“The bauxite rush is creating jobs. Pahang is blessed by God,” he said.

Wan Junaidi, however, said he would press for more sustainable mining and measures to prevent the release of dangerous elements.

Few expect the bauxite rush to be slowed, however. “I have complained, but corruption is keeping illegal mining alive,” said Manap Muda, the village head.Fuziah was infuriated when shown the government report on contamination. She called for an immediate suspension of bauxite exports.

“We should not toy with human life. It is shocking that the frightening water sampling data is released three months after the sampling was done,” she said, warning of “irreversible” damage.

Surin admits mining without a permit, but dismisses the environmental concerns as envious fear-mongering.

Flush with cash, he sees a wealthy new era for himself, planning to eventually build and rent out homes on his cratered property.

“I’ll replant the oil palm trees and visit the holy land of Mecca again with my family,” he boasted. - AFP

China investor to build
bauxite refinery in Batam

Fadli, The Jakarta Post, Batam, Riau Islands | Business | Wed, November 21 2012, 5:54 PM
Business News

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The Hainan Joint Enterprise Business Service Co. Ltd. and its Indonesian partner company, PT Indopura Resources, plan to construct a bauxite refinery worth US$700 million in Batam, Riau Islands.

The factory is expected to employ 5,000 workers.

PT Indopura Resources director Cedric Lam, its managing director Arief Winata and Hainan Joint Enterprise managing director Xi Cheng Xian said in a press conference on Wednesday that the factory was scheduled to begin operating in 2014.

According to Arief, the construction of the factory will take one year to complete. “The land is available for the construction of the refinery,” he said.

“We chose Batam because the city has a sufficient electricity supply and clean water,” he added.

The refinery is expected to distill 2.7 metric tons of bauxite into alumina every year. Arief said the export value of alumina could be five times higher than the raw bauxite.

“We are aiming to export it to China. But, there are alternative opportunities for the alumina to be exported to other countries,” Arief said. (lfr)

The Environmental Impacts Caused by Bauxite Mining

Air Pollution and Acid Rain

Dust is a primarily environmental problem caused by Bauxite mining. Dust absolutely covers very large surrounding areas that affect the habitats, including residential and agricultural neighborhoods of the Bauxite exploitation site. The "red" dust waste from the first process of Bauxite definitely will cling to the income-producing plantations such as coffee, tea, rubber, black pepper and remain on their leaves for a long period of time. This phenomenon is very harmful to the growth of the agricultural products and reduces the productivity of these trees.

This dust consisting of toxic chemicals plus the natural emissions of radiation products as radium, thorium, and beryllium- can in the long run become a cause of lung cancer for residents in the surrounding areas as borne out by statistical data coming from coal mine areas in Western countries.

Moreover, during the separation process, the vapor of sulfur dioxide is formed, and an acid rain is generated due to the chemical blend of sulfurous air and water. This acid rain is the most serious harm to adjacent farms.

Water Pollution

Digging a bauxite site would tremendously damage huge depths of the topsoil level that can never be replenished as in the condition before digging. Besides, it requires an estimated area equivalent to the bauxite site to dump the red sludge.

According to historical data or bauxite exploitation data taken from different advanced countries, the ratio 4/2/1 means that in order for 4 tons of ore to produce 2 tons of alumina, or 1 ton of pure aluminum, 4 tons of red sludge are the result.

When the toxic red sludge is dumped on the ground, its toxic chemicals will be percolated to the underground water table along with rainwater, which would then contaminate the main water source of the highlands region and its people in Dak Nong province.

In addition, the red sludge is carried by rain to the Serepok River and surrounding streams from the Highlands to the Dong Nai River, the main water source provider for Saigon (Ho Chi Minh) city and the southeastern part of South Vietnam.

In sum, this hazardous waste is seriously harmful to a population of 30 million and causes agricultural damage to the highland farms.

Fishery Pollution

The fishing industry will also be damaged due to the poisonous chemicals from the red sludge as fish can subsequently be vanishing or even become extinct. According to researches carried out by American and Italian scientists, red sludge can cause the genetic distortion of fish in the ocean. The health and lives of the people living southeast of Saigon and its fish consumers can be greatly affected as well.

Toxicity Affecting Human Lives

The red sludge puts health and human lives at risk of being lost or harmed due to air, water and fish pollution. The medical statistics prove that prolonged toxicity may cause encephalopathy, osteoporosis, anemia, and possibly Parkinson diseases. An Australian researcher in Australia where bauxite mining is largely developed proved that red sludge causes lung cancer and uterus deformation in rat experiments. The common symptoms of toxicity on humans are dizziness, vertigo, nausea, fainting, or comatose if breathing or taking in a large dosage.

According to OSHA, the sodium hydroxide (NaOH) is the primary waste in red sludge and it is harmful to human beings after prolonged contact, say 15 years. Direct contact may cause skin irritation, or inflammation of the respiratory system such as blistering of the throat, mouth or nose.

aside Nuclear plants, our neighbours are turning SE Asia into a toxic place.

Bauxite can release carcinogenic heavy metals such as strontium, cesium and other harmful substances, as well as low levels of radiation.

Batam plant will blow its toxic chemicals over just like how haze travels to us when it is operational.

get ready to see rise in cancer rate in Sg. :s12:  

Surin admits mining without a permit, but dismisses the environmental concerns as envious fear-mongering.