Antinuclear

Aborigines, unions voice anger at BHP Billiton’s uranium mining plans

“The WA mining industry, and BHP in particular, has a poor worker safety record and uranium mining poses even greater health risks as uranium mine workers are exposed to radiation from the ore itself and from the inhalation of radon gas,”

Anger at BHP’s Yeelirrie uranium project  Perth Now Russell Quinn & Rebecca Lawson,  November 16, 2010 BHP Billiton has met with opposition from traditional owners over the development of the proposed Yeelirrie uranium mine at its annual general meeting in Perth today.

About 60 people armed with posters, banners and a live band protested the mining giant’s proposed uranium project outside of the Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre.The Conservation Council of WA, UnionsWA and Indigenous representatives reiterated community opposition to BHP’s Australian uranium mining plans amid highlighting BHP’s failure to meet its own human and environmental standards overseas.
raditional owner Kado Muir told PerthNow that many questions still needed to be answered.

“We want to know what the landscape will be like at the end of the Yeelirrie mine,” Muir said.

“We don’t want to be left with a toxic, radioactive outback.”

Traditional owners emphasised that they don’t want uranium mining in their backyard.

Specifically, protestors suggested that if Yeelirrie goes ahead and the mine is developed there will be concerns of uranium mines popping up from Mulga Rocks to Kununurra.

“And that’s an option traditional owners are not prepared to have,” Muir said.

Conservation Council of WA director Piers Verstegen remains concerned about BHP’s failure to put its own sustainability and corporate responsibility policies into practice in pursuing the proposed Yeelirie uranium mining project after calling for a full open and transparent public inquiry into the project.

“BHP has worked behind the scenes to prevent this inquiry from going ahead, indicating that the company knows they have something to hide. This contravenes BHP’s own policy on transparency, and we are seeking clarity on this at today’s AGM,” Mr Verstegen said.

“There is no such thing as a safe uranium mine, and the range of serious international environmental and social breaches outlined in the BHP Alternative Annual Report further compound our concerns about the Yeelirrie proposal here in WA.

“Serious concerns surrounding this proposal include health impacts on local communities, radioactive waste management, transport of uranium ore through communities and the serious risk that WA uranium will contribute to nuclear weapons proliferation.”

UnionsWA Secretary Simone McGurk said the union opposes uranium mining in Western Australia due to concerns for the safety of workers involved in the industry and nearby communities.

“The WA mining industry, and BHP in particular, has a poor worker safety record and uranium mining poses even greater health risks as uranium mine workers are exposed to radiation from the ore itself and from the inhalation of radon gas,” she said.

The Conservation Council of WA has contributed to the international BHP Billiton Alternative Annual Report which calls on BHP to put their human rights and environmental policies into practice, and withdraw from uranium mining and other dirty energy resources………

Anger at BHP’s Yeelirrie uranium project | Perth Now

November 17, 2010 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Opposition to nuclear, uranium, Western Australia | aboriginal, antinuclear, Australia, BHP, BHP Billiton, indigenous, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear wastes, Olympic Dam, Opposition to nuclear, radioactive, uranium