Antinuclear

Australia’s poor record as a uranium mining nation

What is our record as a nation of Uranium miners?
ARCHIES ARCHIVE 24 July 09
Ranger:• despite being expected to operate under a “no-release” water management system, incidents involving misplaced low grade ores or failures in water control bunds have led on numerous occasions to contaminated runoff waters being leaked into adjacent creeks (especially Corridoor Creek, a tributary of Magela Creek).• in early 2004 incorrect plumbing saw the process water circuit being connected to the potable drinking water circuit – leading to rapid and significant toxic process water being mixed with drinking water, and much of the Ranger workforce being potentially exposed to both acute chemical and radiological exposure.

Olympic Dam:• after operating for nearly a decade, a major ongoing leak from the tailings dam was revealed, amounting to the loss of billions of litres of tailings water to groundwater.• in March 1999, and again October 2001, major explosions and fires caused substantive damage to the mill and smelter complexes, including major releases of noxious fumes – though the extent of radiological releases remains highly contentious, the fact that the uranium solvent extraction circuit in the 2001 incident was on fire raises serious concerns about how these incidents are handled by current regulators.
Beverley:
• numerous spills and leaks from pipelines have occurred………………

Can uranium mines be satisfactorily rehabilitated?

The experience of rehabilitating uranium mines to date in Australia is questionable. The first generation of uranium mines from the Cold War, namely Rum Jungle, Radium Hill, Mary Kathleen and the South Alligator group of mines, all still present environmental and radiological management problems and require constant vigilence and maintenance.

Examples include: – Rum Jungle –….mine drainage continues to pollute the Finniss River…… Radium Hill…………tailings requires ongoing maintenance…..Mary Kathleen………… ongoing seepage of saline, metal and radionuclide rich waters from the tailings dam
From a briefing paper by Gavin M. Mudd for <a

Uranium Mining and a National Park #2 « Ærchies Archive – The Curmudgeon’s Magazine

July 25, 2009 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, safety, uranium | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear wastes, radioactive, uranium