Antinuclear

Ranger uranium mine water poorly monitored

Stringent Water Monitoring Needed at Uranium Mine: Greens | theangle.org. 27 May 21010, The Australian Greens have called for better water monitoring methods to be implemented in the wake of allegations that contamination of creek systems has occurred near the Ranger Uranium Mine in the Northern Territory.Recent data released by the Environment Centre NT outlined significant sulphate contamination of nearby water systems outside of the mine’s zone, reigniting fears that the mine’s owners, Energy Resources of Australia, were continuing to have difficulty in controlling contamination…….
Under questioning from Greens Senator Scott Ludlam at Senate estimates in Canberra on Wednesday, Supervising Scientist Alan Hughes acknowledged deficiencies in current methods of water monitoring, saying real time water monitoring was the most efficient way to monitor contamination of waterways downstream of the Ranger Uranium Mine and promised to push for this method.

“It is time the Supervising Scientist stepped in to make sure that real-time water quality data is made public by the company so that we can all be confident that events like this don’t ever go under the radar,” Senator Ludlam said at the hearing.

Senator Ludlam referred to the recent contamination of water sources and said that, while no regulatory guidelines were broken by the company, this was not difficult as none had been set. Stringent Water Monitoring Needed at Uranium Mine: Greens | theangle.org

May 27, 2010 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | environment, Northern Territory, uranium, water | aboriginal, antinuclear, Australia, nuclear, nuclear wastes, radiation, renewable, uranium, water