Ever since the rare earth project in Gebeng, Pahang, was initiated, there have been protests. The very word “radioactivity” has been taken out of context and given a tone of evilness.

There is radioactivity all around us whether we like it or not. There is background radioactivity,far more in confined areas like shopping malls, hospitals and even the open parks where we exercise and the very houses we live in.

The benefits of radioactivity have brought a paradigm shift in detecting and treating diseases, especially cancer.

For instance, today we have radiopharmaceuticals which are widely used in the medical field for treating cancer and radioactive tracers to detect abnormal growths and for research and development.

The fact is they are here to stay and their uses will only increase with time. Are we to abandon them just because they are radioactive?

Now, coming back to the issue of rare earth. It is found all round the crust of our planet.

The term “rare earth” came about due to the scarcity of minerals in it; and the word “earth” was at that time synonymous with minerals.

If we were to walk down the aisle of history of the periodic table of elements in the field of chemistry, terminologies like “noble gases” may not make sense but they were in context in the year 1869 when the table was formulated. And because of the availability of rare minerals, which are more abundant than gold, we have acquired the current lifestyle in the world we live in. There is “rare earth” in our homes and pockets (via communication gadgets).

We must accept the fact that despite the abundant available on our planet, many countries have refrained from mining the rare minerals because China has been exporting them at very low prices. It does not make economic sense to venture into mining such minerals if we can purchase a commodity far below the cost of extracting it ourselves.

Nevertheless, China has decided to impose strict export terms and to reduce the quantity supplied to the world market.

Now, this is a dangerous precedent as it has a monopoly of the market with a 95 per cent share. With this policy, we would be subject to higher prices of electrical and electronic goods, and even vehicles.