Radioactivity over Sunshine Coast likely to have come from Lucas Heights Nuclear Facility
In a long article, Paul Langley traces the history of nuclear radiation releases and coverups. Marcus Grezechnik of Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA) was reassuring, and vague about the origin of this radiation But – this same Marcus Grezechnik is one of the authors of the only research study done on radioactive clouds in Austtralia. That study of radioactivity in the atmosphere above Melbourne, in 2008 and 2009 found that the source was the Lucas Heights nuclear facility, in Sydney. - Christina Macpherson
That cloud of reactor gas reported off the Sunshine Coast – Not Fukushima. It’s Lucas Heights, Paul Langley’s Nuclear History Blog, 14 Jan 2012,
Quote: “Evaluation of radioxenon releases in Australia using atmospheric dispersion modelling tools.
The origin of a series of atmospheric radioxenon events detected at the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty Organisation (CTBTO) International Monitoring System site in Melbourne, Australia, between November 2008 and February 2009 was investigated. Backward tracking analyses indicated that the events were consistent with releases associated with hot commission testing of the Australian Nuclear Science Technology Organisation (ANSTO) radiopharmaceutical production facility in Sydney, Australia. Forward dispersion analyses were used to estimate release magnitudes and transport times. The estimated (133)Xe release magnitude of the largest event (between 0.2 and 34 TBq over a 2 d window), was in close agreement with the stack emission releases estimated by the facility for this time period (between 0.5 and 2 TBq). Modelling of irradiation conditions and theoretical radioxenon emission rates were undertaken and provided further evidence that the Melbourne detections originated from this radiopharmaceutical production facility. These findings do not have public health implications. This is the first comprehensive study of atmospheric radioxenon measurements and releases in Australia. Crown Copyright (c) 2010. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Rick Tinker, Blake Orr, Marcus Grzechnik, Emmy Hoffmann, Paul Saey, Stephen Solomon. Evaluation of radioxenon releases in Australia using atmospheric dispersion modelling tools. Journal of environmental radioactivity. 2010 May;101(5): 353-61 ” end quote.
Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency, 619 Lower Plenty Road, Yallambie, Victoria, Melbourne 3085, Australia. rick.tinker@arpansa.gov.au
Journal of environmental radioactivity 2010 May http://www.nextbio.com/b/search/article.nb?id=20346548
Mysterious radioactive cloud detected by Geiger counter over Sunshine Coast
Radiation cloud ‘not harmful’ , Sunshine Coast Daily, Kate Clifford | 14th January 2012 A RADIOACTIVE cloud lingering off the Sunshine Coast on Sunday was not dangerous, according to the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency.
Caloundra IT manager Peter Daley picked up the cloud’s radioactivity on his Geiger counter, a device that measures ionizing radiation in the atmosphere. The reading was taken at 6.30pm and measured 0.80 microsieverts, which is eight times over the average level of radiation in the atmosphere.
Mr Daley said he was concerned the cloud could have formed from a radioactive fall out from the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan. ”This may be just a one off but even still, any exposure to an increase in radiation is not good,” Mr Daley said. He first noticed the hike when his Geiger counter began erratically beeping.
He then watched the rise in radiation fluctuate for three hours, peaking for 20 minutes at 0.80. ”I was shocked to hear the Geiger alarm going off, I have been recording radiation in the atmosphere for four years and the highest it has ever gone was 0.20 microsieverts.”
Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency senior environmental scientist Marcus Grezechnik said the reading was unusualbut not concerning for the Coast…..
http://www.sunshinecoastdaily.com.au/story/2012/01/14/radiation-cloud-not-harmful-sunshine-coast/
Australia participating in 23 States monitoring radiation in Pacific Ocean
Considerable volumes of radioactive contaminated water entered and
polluted the Pacific Ocean following the March 11 Nuclear accident. It
raised concern among countries in the Pacific region that radiation
releases may reach and damage coastal zones with possible consequences
for communities and economies.
IAEA Project To Monitor Radioactive Substances In Pacific Ocean Region (RTTNews) 13 Dec 11 – The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is implementing a Technical Cooperation (TC) Project for countries
throughout the Pacific Ocean region to monitor radioactive substances in the marine environment in the wake of the release of radioactive particles into the Pacific from the tsunami-wrecked Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Japan. Read more »
Australia’s Northern Territory allows free groundwater to mining companies, not to any other users!
Mataranka residents surprised by mining’s right to ground water, ABC Rural News, By Steven Schubert, 02/12/2011 Members of a committee formed to develop a water plan for the Northern Territory town of Mataranka say they were never told mining operations could gain unrestricted access to ground water.
Mining operations don’t require a licence from the water controller under the NT Water Act, while other users have to apply for an allocation of ground water. Committee member Hamish McFarlane says if a mining project is formed near the town, there could be less water for irrigators and other users.
“Keeping in mind that you said before that the Water Act gives priority to mining, if a mining company came in here at this point in time and took the consumptive pool there would be no growth in Mataranka outside the mining industry.”… http://www.abc.net.au/rural/news/content/201112/s3382086.htm
Secretive and inadequate plan for Toro Energy’s uranium mining project at Wiluna, Western Australia
Toro Energy acknowledges that it has not fully verified the accuracy or completeness of its own application, and does not accept responsibility or liability for its application.….A mining agreement with Traditional Owners has not yet been negotiated…Uranium mining and tailings disposal in this region would occur below the water-table and be connected to aquatic ecosystems. There is a risk of contaminating the aquatic ecosystems….The mine rehabilitation plans are incomplete and Toro Energy’s preliminary costing for rehabilitation is being kept secret.
Submission to the Environmental Protection Authority of Western Australia on behalf of the Conservation Council of WA, the Australian Conservation Foundation, the Wilderness Society and the Anti Nuclear Alliance of WA. This submission was prepared with the help and advice from Dr Jim Green, Dr Gavin Mudd and Dr Nic Dunlop.
re: Toro Energy Ltd Wiluna uranium project Environmental Review and Management Programme (ERMP) Wiluna ERMP Submission_Final.doc
Australian uranium mines have a history of leaks, safety breaches and failed rehabilitation. Accordingly a 2004 report by a Senate References and Legislation Committee found “a pattern of under-performance and non-compliance” in the uranium mining industry and identified many gaps in knowledge. To date, not a single uranium mine in Australia has been rehabilitated to the point that radiological conditions are stable and ongoing monitoring is no longer required.
The history of the wider mining sector in WA has also been problematic as detailed in a recent Auditor General’s report . Read more »
Few Australians aware of the environmental disaster that will be Olympic Dam uranium mine
The project was vigorously opposed from the start by both the local Arabunna and Kokatha peoples …..
The mining operations are expected to produce 8 million litres of radioactive tailings every day – which will eventually leach into local aquifers – and will create 9 billion tons of radioactive waste that will need to be monitored for the next 10,000 years,
Virtually every adult Australian citizen was aware of the “carbon tax” …Very few, however, were aware that at much the same time, a project had been set into motion that made a complete mockery of any pretensions to act in a an environmentally responsible manner.
Learning To Shine Through The Ruins, By Vincent Di Stefano, 30 October, 2011,Countercurrents.org ”…….Despite the fact that the Chernobyl melt-down 25 years ago has already cost nearly a million lives , and despite the fact that hot Strontium from the damaged Fukushima nuclear plant has been detected on the rooftops of houses in Yokohama 250 kilometers away, the nuclear industry, together with its marketing arm, the International Atomic Energy Commission continues to aggressively pursue their deadly interests.
On October 10th 2011 , both the Australian Federal Government and the South Australian Government obligingly rubber-stamped a massive industrial development at the Olympic Dam mine complex at Roxby Downs in South Australia that will, over the next 10 years, see an additional 19,000 tons of uranium oxide (yellow cake) produced annually for export every year. Australia already exports over 10,000 tons of yellow cake every year.
This mammoth project will result in the creation of the world’s largest open-pit mining operation. Read more »
BHP Billiton’s proposed desalination plant to exterminate Australia’s iconic Giant Cuttlefish?
Save the Giant Australian Cuttlefish and Upper Spencer Gulf The Point Lowly Peninsula is the only known place in the world where hundreds of thousands of Giant Australian Cuttlefish gather to breed. We need your help to urge the State Government of South Australia to protect this wildlife phenomenon from proposed industrial impacts.
Other fish species also spawn in the area including Snapper, Western King Prawns, Squid, Eagle Rays and Port Jackson Sharks. The Upper Spencer Gulf ecosystem also supports resident dolphin pods plus visiting whales, endangered sealions and turtles.
A desalination plant is currently proposed for the Point Lowly Peninsula. If approved, its operation will release salty brine into this sensitive ecosystem. Scientific studies have shown that increased salinity kills cuttlefish and squid eggs.
The Giant Australian Cuttlefish and Upper Spencer Gulf fish nurseries need your help. Sign and share our petition and urge our State Premier to insist on relocating the proposed desalination plant to a less vulnerable area. http://www.thepetitionsite.com/7/save-the-giant-australian-cuttlefish-upper-spencer-gulf/
Obscenity of BHP Billiton’s Control of Huge Water Resources in Olympic Damn Uranium Mine Deal
VIDEO Mine expansion draws more water from basin ABC News, Paul Klaric, October 14, 2011 Scientists are concerned that the the proposed Olympic Dam mine expansion will put a strain on Australia’s greatest underground water supply. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-10-14/mine-expansion-draws-more-water-from-basin/3572500
GREEN LIGHT FOR OLYMPIC DAM EXPANSION THE BLOGGER IS A BHP BILLITON SHAREHOLDER. On 13 May 2011 the company announced a proposal for six-fold expansion of Olympic Dam Mine in South Australia – to extract the most valuable single mineral deposit in the world. The mine will consume up to 42 million litres of water a day from the Great Artesian Basin for plus 40 years.
USE OF THE GREAT ARTESIAN BASIN BY THAT MINE IS THE ISSUE WHICH THIS BLOG ADDRESSES
On 10 October 2011 the South Australian (SA) Government granted approval for the BHP Billiton (BHP) Olympic Dam expansion. The Indenture Bill, signed on 12 October by representatives of BHP and the State Government, will now be submitted to vote in the SA Parliament. The SA government will not terminate or suspend the current licence which entitles BHP to take 42 million litres of water each day for Olympic Dam from the Great Artesian Basin (GAB) - but BHP will in the future pay for GAB water. This failure of the SA Government to protect the best interests of the GAB represents an enormously significant strategic win for BHP.
One small concession to Australia’s environment – BHP to pay a bit for future water grab
(once again – so much news about BHP Billiton and Olympic Dam uranium mine – more items at http://nuclearnewsaustralia.wordpress.com/ )
BHP forced to pay for Great Artesian Basin water, ABC Rural By Annabelle Homer , 13/10/2011 The South Australian Government and BHP Billiton have signed an Indenture Agreement to enable the Olympic Dam mine expansion to go ahead. The Indenture Bill will be introduced to State Parliament next week to enable this agreement to be backed by the full force of South Australian law.
As part of the agreement, the company will now be charged for the water it extracts from the Great Artesian Basin and $350 million a year in royalties will be generated once the project is at full capacity….. BHP has accepted reluctantly they will now come under Environment Protection Agency, they are paying for the first time ever for the Great Artesian Basin water.”
BHP will be charged on the current NRM Board levy rate (currently $0.0318/KL) for the region (capped at $0.10/KL), for a period of 30 years from the commencement of the project.The charge will then revert to the current NRM Levy rate.
BHP will not be required to pay for water being taken on the Special Mineral Lease.
Independent environmental consultant David Noonan says the BHP is not paying enough. ”He says the company will be paying $1.3 million to $1.5 million a year for essentially a precious water resource.”
The Bill also includes a 12-month sunset clause, which means the company has one year from when Parliament passes the Bill to get the approval from its Board of Directors to formally begin the expansion. http://www.abc.net.au/rural/news/content/201110/s3338957.htm
How Australian governments gave BHP special treatment, and free groundwater
Public resources for private profit: free water for the largest open-pit mine in the world Coober Pedy Regional Times, by: Nectaria Calan, 13 Oct 11 In August mining giant BHP Billiton announced record financial results for the 2011 financial year, recording a total net profit of US$23.95 billion, nearly double its 2010 figure of US$13.01 billion.Olympic Dam an unprecedented attack on Australia’s environment
BHP Billiton’s Olympic Dam mine expansion will leave an uprecedented environmental legacy THE AUSTRALIAN, BY:PAUL CLEARY October 11, 2011 FUTURE generations of Australians will have to contend with an unprecedented environmental legacy from the expansion of Olympic Dam’s copper-uranium mine, but our system provides no way of compensating them.
BHP Billiton’s open-cut expansion of mining to extract an estimated $800 billion in mineral wealth will leave behind an above-ground heap of radioactive tailings spread over 44sq km and as high as the Sydney Opera House.
After 40 years of production, the mine will also leave behind a toxic crater measuring 4km wide and more than 1km deep.
Both legacies pose significant risks to ground water, according to BHP’s environmental impact statement . . . although these were dismissed yesterday by Environment Minister Tony Burke.
Under Australia’s federal-state system, the South Australian government has no incentive to set up a future fund so that it can compensate future residents for having to live with much less mineral wealth, and with the environmental costs of this development. Nor has the federal government or opposition shown any interest in measures to compensate our grandkids, and their descendants, for having used our inherited mineral wealth to inflate our standard of living….. the mineral resources rent tax won’t collect any of the above-normal profits earned from developing one of the world’s biggest ore deposits, because it only taxes coal and iron ore production. http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/opinion/counting-the-cost-of-bhps-olympic-dam/story-e6frg9if-1226163362958
Radioactive birds may arrive in Tasmania in seasonal migration
Mutton bird radiation warning, ABC News, September 30, 2011 Tasmanians are being warned not to collect dead mutton birds for research. A recent Tasmanian Farmers and Graziers Association newsletter describes research into mutton bird exposure to radiation from Japan’s Fukushima nuclear plant. It says the birds will soon be migrating back to Australia after many spent winter in the Sea of Japan.
The article says people can help researchers by collecting freshly dead mutton birds, freezing them and handing them over to their local Parks and Wildlife office or museum. But the department says it is not seeking samples and discourages people unfamiliar with wildlife from collecting them. A spokeswoman says suggestions of radiation exposure in birds is being further investigated. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-09-30/20110930-muttonbird-radiation-warning/3193736?section=tas
Radioactive dust storms from uranium mine will threaten Australia’s cities
Dust storm envelopes Coober Pedy, South Australia – September 27 11, Christina Macpherson Dust storms can travel thousands of km, from South Australia – the Olympic Dam uranium mine area, to three capital cities, and even to New Zealand.
These winds travelled similarly to the 2009 Red Dust storm and went across to NSW and through Victoria. Coober Pedy is just East of Emu Field.
Weather forecast was : A vigorous front moving across South Australia 28 September 2011, with west to southwest winds averaging 60-km/h with damaging wind gusts in excess of 80 km/h
RED DUST STORM TWO YEARS AGO to the week was: Forecast September 2009 A vigorous front moving across South Australia 22-25 September [2009], with west to southwest winds averaging 60-70 km/h with damaging wind gusts in excess
of 90 km/h.
This time around, Australia’s capital cities have been lucky. Not like two years ago, when dust covered dozens of towns and cities in three states, affecting Adelaide , Melbourne and blanketing Sydney. The dust from the Olympic Dam region might have carried radioactivity – the uranium mine then , and now, an underground mine.
But what happens when Olympic Dam uranium mine becomes the world’s biggest open cut mine?
Similar wind storms will happen. But then the winds will be carrying the radioactive dust from BHP Billiton’s massive mountain of tailings. The waste rockpile (overburden) will be an enormous mountain on the landscape, 150 metres high and up to 8 kilometres wide.
BHP Billiton themselves admit – or is it boast ? – that this giant mine will alter the region’s weather patterns – to such an extent that aircraft flight paths will have to be changed.
Wake up, city-dwelling Australians – the radioactive threat of Olympic Dam means that Coober Pedy’s dust storms will concern you, too
Research to benefit the Giant Cuttlefish, or the Giant Non Australian BHP Billiton?
In South Australia, a Flinders University team is doing the USA’s bidding, as Professor Pam Sykes pushes U.S. funded research into making low level ionising radiation look good.
Now we have another research team in South Australia,, funded by Australian governments, investigating the giant cuttlefish. We must wonder to what extent this research is geared at truly studying this unique and beautiful animal, and its specialised habitat. This is a species that will be lost to the world, made extinct by a change in the salt/freshwater balance in the upper Spencer Gulf.
The proposed desalinationn plant – needed for BHP Billiton’s expansion of Olympic Damn uranium mine – would make that change, and make that extinction of an iconic Australian species.
Will the new research study really lead to the protection of the giant cuttlefish, or the protection of the giant Non Australia – BHP Billiton? – Christina Macpherson
Federal and state funds for cuttlefish research, ABC News, September 15, 2011 Research into giant cuttlefish in South Australia’s upper Spencer Gulf will receive $105,000 in federal and state funding.
SA Fisheries Minister Michael O’Brien says a monitoring and evaluation program will look at population biomass, water quality and habitat. There has been some recent concern that fewer cuttlefish are in the upper Gulf.
Concern also has been expressed about the possible effects of discharge if a desalination plant is built in the area. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-09-15/giant-cuttlefish-research-funding/2900668
Why Toro’s uranium mining plan at Wiluna should be stopped
Key concerns with Toro’s plan to mine uranium at Wiluna,
by Mia Pepper and Jim Green, 9 sept 11,
* Traditional Owners are opposed to the construction of a uranium mine at
the significant sacred site of Lake Way. Toro has not completed
Archeological and Ethnographic studies and does not already have a
comprehensive Aboriginal Heritage Management Plan.
* Uranium exported from Wiluna will at best end up as high-level nuclear
waste. At worst it will end up as fissile (explosive) material in nuclear
weapons, or in a nuclear disaster such as that unfolding in Fukushima,
Japan.
* Toro does not accept responsibility for its own application, stating
that it has “not fully verified the accuracy or completeness” of its
application.
* Lake Way is home to a unique population of Stygofauna − a
newly-discovered species of subterranean crustaceans.
* Toro has not factored in recent advice from the International Commission
on Radiological Protection that radon is twice as carcinogenic as
previously thought.
* Transport plans are presented as a “preliminary draft” and the company
plans to transport its toxic, radioactive product over many thousands of
kilometres, from Wiluna to Adelaide and Darwin.
* Uranium mining and tailings disposal in this region will occur below the
water-table and will be connected to aquatic ecosystems. There is a
significant risk of contaminating the aquatic ecosystems with changes in
water chemistry, including the mobilisation of radioactive compounds.
* The legal requirement for tailings management at the Ranger uranium mine
in the NT is effective isolation for at least 10,000 years. The minimum
standard should be the same for Wiluna.
* There has not been a calcrete uranium deposit mined in Australia and
there is only one calcrete deposit presently being mined worldwide. There
is a lack of expertise and experience in engineering and mine design for
these deposits.
* Wiluna has a number of operating mines close to town and in the region.
Despite current mining activity, Wiluna still suffers from extreme
poverty, homelessness, unemployment, violence and other social problems.
This month
For international news, go to nuclear-news
Check on the Ugly Australian company, Lynas, in Malaysia http://baddevelopers.nfshost.com/Docs/L.htm
http://www.greenleft.org.au/node/49872 Peter Watts at Global Conference for a Nuclear Power Free World
Aboriginal protest in Canberra. Scroll down page. Video news shows no violence from protestors, only from police http://www.3aw.com.au/blogs/breaking-news-blog/the-referendum-died-today/20120126-1qj4x.html
of the week. http://www.radiationreport.com/effects-of-radiation/nuclear-apologists-play-shoot-the-messenger-on-radiation/
Energy Matters Video News – Episode 56 – February 1, 2012
http://www.energymatters.com.au/index.php?main_page=news_article&article_id=3021
Anti nuclear action below: - more info at Action Australia « Antinuclear and at Event details « Antinuclear
EVENTS
- February 13 Adelaide Fukushima and the Future of Nuclear Power
- February 23 - Adelaide Nicole Foss – a Mentor For Turbulent Times. Nicole Foss speaks on Energy and the Economy http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=FqRGVNUK5x0
LATEST AUDIO & VIDEO ITEMS. arrive – so fast and so good – go to our audiovisual page Audiovisual « Antinuclear for information on these websites
Nuclear power and WATER – theme for February 2012
For Australia especially, Global warming means WATER shortage – drought over wide areas, more evaporation.
Nuclear power and uranium mining are water-intensive
Uranium mining is water intensive. Already outback communities are being hit by water shortage, as water is being extracted from the Great Arterial Basin faster than it is being replenished.
Yet BHP Billiton has open slather, at no cost whatever, to its daily guzzle of 35 million litres, and BHPB plans to extract an additional 120 million litres of publicly-owned artesian water per day, every day, for the next 70 years.)
Out of sight, out of mind
Groundwater is a major resource, but one that has been taken for granted for decades. In the past, groundwater supplies were treated as an infinite resource, and subject to an ‘out of sight, out of mind’ attitude. But that’s changing. There’s now an enormous interest in the way our groundwater resources are measured, managed and utilised. There are also concerns over issues such as over-extraction of water, pollution, wastage, allocation and licensing issues, water pricing and groundwater salinisation.
The water source beneath one-fifth of Australia
The most well-known and important groundwater source in Australia is the Great Artesian Basin, or GAB. This is a vast groundwater source that underlies 22 per cent of Australia – extending beneath the arid and semi-arid regions of Queensland, the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales. It covers about 1.7 million square kilometres, and contains an estimated 8700 million megalitres of water. Not surprisingly, it’s one of the largest artesian water basins in the world……
The sustainable yield of a groundwater source depends on balancing the use or discharge against recharge rates. Normally discharge of groundwater occurs through vegetation, into streams and lakes, or through evaporation into the atmosphere. Sustainable yield cannot simply be determined by a measure of the recharge rate. If water is extracted for human use at the recharge rate, discharge to other areas can be affected…..
Extraction of groundwater can also lead to salinity problems and have a negative impact on native vegetation with roots that tap into groundwater, as well as wetlands, rivers and streams. The full impact of using these aquifers as planned is not known, but is likely to reduce the rate of water flowing to support rivers and wetlands and other groundwater dependent ecosystems…. http://www.science.org.au/nova/100/100key.htm
Garlick said water from the Great Artesian Basin in Central Australia is being depleted to keep residual radioactive dust from uranium mining wet in order to keep it from blowing across the continent. Seven million gallons of water is being extracted from the basin per day to keep the radioactive dust in place, she said.
Despite its profits more than tripling in the last three years, BHP has never paid a cent for the vast amounts of water used by the Olympic Dam copper and uranium mine near Roxby Downs. The mine currently uses approximately 35 million litres of water a day from the Great Artesian Basin. Under the Roxby Downs Indenture Act BHP is not required to pay for this water usage.
The Indenture Act applies specifically to the Olympic Dam mine, and provides for wide-ranging legal exemptions and overrides from environmental and Aboriginal heritage protection laws that apply elsewhere in the state, including the Environmental Protection Act and the Natural Resources Act (which incorporates water management issues).
“The Indenture Act means that the Olympic Dam mine is not subject to the same environmental regulatory framework as other industrial projects in the state,’ explained Nectaria Calan of Friends of the Earth Adelaide. “Additionally, by allowing BHP to take water from the Great Artesian Basin for free, the South Australian government is essentially providing BHP with a massive subsidy,” she continued.
The water intake from the Great Artesian Basin has already had adverse impacts on the unique Mound Springs found near Lake Eyre, which are fed by the underlying Artesian Basin, and are sacred to the Arabunna people, the traditional owners of the area.
As part of the proposed expansion of the Olympic Dam mine, BHP Billiton proposes to increase its water consumption by an additional 200 million litres per day. Water intake from the Great Artesian Basin will increase to up to 42 million litres per day, with the remainder to come from a proposed desalination plant at Point Lowly. This amounts to over 100,000 litres of water per minute.
“The vast water usage of uranium mines is often forgotten in the debate about uranium and nuclear energy. Here we are, in the driest state on the driest continent on earth, host to a mine which needs millions of litres of water each day. Due to the Indenture Act, we are essentially exporting our water overseas for free,” said Ms. Calan. (FOE)
