Minister Martin Ferguson making radioactive waste policy on the run
Waste dump tender is ‘putting the radioactive cart before the horse’. Calling for tender to design a remote radioactive waste facility while the only proposed site is under federal court challenge is putting the radioactive cart before the horse, the Beyond Nuclear Initiative (BNI) has said today.
BNI coordinator Natalie Wasley said “The only site federal Resources Minister Martin Ferguson has indicated he intends to pursue for a national radioactive waste dump- Muckaty, 120km north of Tennant Creek in the NT- is subject to a federal court challenge and ongoing community challenge. The NT government is strongly opposed and trade unions, environment and health groups across the country have committed to stand up and stop the Muckaty proposal”.
“The Minister is making radioactive policy on the run, based on a political assumption that a remote site is needed and a miscalculation that people living nearby or culturally connected to those areas do not have the determination or capacity to defeat this proposal,” Ms Wasley added. Continue reading
Government calls for nuclear dump designs http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-08-08/nuclear-waste-
dump-design-out-to-tender/4186010 August 08, 2012 The Federal Government has released a tender calling for concept designs for Australia’s first radioactive nuclear waste dump. The Government has previously announced its preferred site for the dump is on Muckaty Station in the Northern Territory, about 120 kilometres north of Tennant Creek.
The tender says the concept design will be appropriate for a site in arid to semi-arid areas of Australia. It says the facility should be designed to accommodate waste for at least 100 years, and equipment at the site may be required to
repackage the radioactive waste.
Nat Wasley from the Beyond Nuclear Initiative is campaigning against the dump. Ms Wasley did not know the tender was being released. “It came as quite a surprise, but once again it’s an indication of the completely secretive and very un-transparent [sic] process that the Government’s been using,” she said. Submissions for the tender close in September.
Toro Energy – time to come clean on costs of Wiluna uranium mine plan
8 Aug 12 Western Australia’s peak environment group, one of the appellants against Toro Energy Ltd’s proposed Wiluna uranium mine, has called on the company to reveal the expected costs for closure and rehabilitation for the mine, which the Council says could make the project uneconomic.
Piers Verstegen, CCWA Director said “Under WA’s new mine closure guidelines, mining companies are required to pay the full costs of mine closure. In addition, the WA Parliament recently passed a motion that would require uranium mine waste to be isolated from the environment for no less than 10,000 years.
Despite these requirements, Toro are making claims about the financial viability of the Wiluna uranium project without disclosing the costs of mine closure and rehabilitation to shareholders, the WA Government or the community they expect to host the mine.”
“Mining giants BHP and Cameco have both recently concluded that their uranium projects in WA and South Australia are not economically viable. After carefully analysing the cost structure of uranium projects including the very high mine closure and rehabilitation costs, these companies have shelved their projects as they simply don’t stack up.
“The big difference between Toro Energy and the mining giants is they have no operating mining projects and nothing to lose. Unlike BHP and Cameco who have huge portfolios at stake, Toro energy could easily abandon an uneconomic uranium mine and leave the clean-up bill to be paid by WA taxpayers.
“Even their largest investor Oz Minerals, which holds a 43% stake in the company, described Toro as a ‘tiny company’ and a ‘non core asset’ at their recent AGM in Melbourne.
“It may be that Toro’s business model does not involve ever paying their mine closure costs, with the company instead planning to abandon the mine site and leave this liability to the WA taxpayer. This would explain the company’s failure to account for mine closure costs in the information they have provided to shareholders.
“Given this very real possibility, the WA Government should apply the same standards used by the big mining companies in assessing uranium proposals. If Companies like BHP and Cameco are not prepared to gamble their extensive assets on this uncertain industry, our Government should not be prepared to gamble taxpayers’ money and the health of our environment and communities on uranium mining.”
Australia willing to sell uranium to repressive, undemocratic Emirates regime
Think again on uranium sale to illiberal UAE Crikey, by Dr Rodger Shanahan, 8 Aug 12 “……our recent announcement of a $200 million deal to sell uranium to the UAE, and the UAE’s announcement at the same time that it would support Australia’s bid for a seat at the UN Security Council
What you won’t hear from the government or Foreign Affairs Minister Bob Carr is any mention of the Emiratis recent intolerance for anything that approaches free speech. This strikes one as, well, hypocritical, considering this government has espoused the need for autocratic rulers to listen to the voice of the people and in some cases to step aside when they don’t adopt this approach.
On the surface, the UAE is a socially liberal Arab state with which we and many other Western countries have close relations. But below the surface, the UAE is demonstrating that it is just as politically illiberal as other Arab regimes.
How else to explain the forced closure of democracy promotion NGOs earlier this year such as the US-funded National Democratic Institute and the German-funded Konrad Adenauer Foundation? Concerns about what has been happening in the UAE are neatly summarised in an article on open democracy.
Of more concern than the action against foreign NGOs, however, has been the detention without charge of over 50 political and human rights activists accused of a rather Orwellian-sounding plot against state security and the rather more standard claim that they had unspecified ties “to foreign parties”. It appears that no political activists in the Arab world, be it in Syria, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the UAE or Egypt, ever has a legitimate domestic political complaint: all political opposition is always carried out at the behest of foreign powers.
And what is Australia’s view on the crackdown on political activists and the closure of democracy-promoting institutes in the UAE? You guessed it: nothing.
Carr’s statements have spoken of our close trading relationship but you won’t find a single word of criticism levelled against the Emiratis for their unwillingness to countenance free speech. I am an advocate of close relations with the UAE because I believe it serves both our national interests. But a relationship in which we have to remain silent about repression of individual freedoms in order to maintain business interests is one in which we reveal ourselves to be less an activist middle power than a subservient mineral exporter….. http://www.crikey.com.au/2012/08/08/australia-uses-china-policy-on-the-emiratis/
Nuclear plant relicensing halts, as USA Cour rejects “Waste Confidence Rule”
U.S. Regulator Halts Nuclear-Plant Licensing, WSJ, By REBECCA SMITH And RYAN TRACY , 7 Aug 12, Court Rules That NRC Can No Longer Accept Assurances a Permanent Waste Repository Is Coming
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission said it would stop issuing licenses for nuclear plants until it addresses problems with its nuclear-waste policy that were raised by a recent federal appeals court decision.
The move, while not expected to affect any nuclear plants right away, shows how the standstill in finding a permanent American nuclear waste dump could undermine the expansion of nuclear power, which is already facing a challenge from cheaper natural gas.
In June, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit said the NRC’s approach to managing nuclear waste was inconsistent with federal environmental standards.
Until the ruling, the NRC had relied on what is known as the Waste Confidence Decision when issuing new licenses for proposed plants and extending the licenses of existing plants. Under that doctrine, the NRC said it could issue licenses because it had confidence that the U.S. eventually would create a permanent repository. But the Obama administration’s elimination of funding for a proposed repository at Yucca Mountain in Nevada made that assertion less believable.
The appeals court struck down the NRC’s finding that there was “reasonable assurance” a permanent waste site would be created “when needed.” It also rejected the NRC’s finding that spent fuel could likely be stored safely for as long as 60 years beyond a plant’s licensed life, either in pools or giant casks. Continue reading
Energy Matters Video News – Episode 71 – August 8,
some of India’s “energy poor” were winners during the events. Many households in affected rural areas had the lights stay on thanks to their small off grid solar power systems that incorporate deep cycle battery storage.
With the possibility of another such event occurring, decentralized energy generation using renewable energy sources will likely gain even more attention in India.
Energy Matters Video News – Episode 71 – August 8, 2012 http://www.energymatters.com.au/index.php?main_page=news_article&article_id=3330 by Energy Matters Presented by Energy Matters team member Virginia, we take a look at some of the stories from Australia and around the world recently added to ourrenewable energy news section.
This week, Virginia reports on solar to the rescue during India’s massive blackout, solar to be cheaper than brown coal by 2030, the Australian Solar Institute providing funding for research into solar solutions for rural areas and the Saphonian – a wind turbine without blades. In what has been described as the world’s largest blackout event, solar panels again proved their worth. Continue reading
Uranium spot prices – exceptionally weak, uranium market at a standstill
Uranium Spot Prices Slip Below $50 Uranium Investing News, August 8, 2012, By Melissa Pistilli – The uranium spot price slipped further last week, dropping below the $50 mark for the first time in nearly a year as sellers gave in to lower bids.
This week, TradeTech is reporting a spot price of $49.50 per pound, down 25 cents from the previous week. …. The consulting firm said transaction activity in the spot market remains “exceptionally weak,” with transaction volume at less than 500,000 pounds of U308 over the past two months. Even with ConverDyn’s Metropolis Works conversion facility looking at a possible 15-month shutdown for safety upgrades, “the market is at a standstill.”…
Victoria’s Baillieu government using every trick to prevent wind energy development
VCAT Exposes Baillieu Govt’s Double Standard on Wind Energy http://yes2renewables.org/2012/08/08/vcat-exposes-baillieu-govts-double-standard-on-wind-energy-2/ August 8, 2012 by Leigh Ewbank The Baillieu government has done its best to hide its distaste for renewable energy since introducing the anti-wind farm planning amendment VC82 almost a year ago.
Last Friday, the first cracks in the Coalition’s public position appeared when the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) found Minister for Planning Matthew Guy had not responded to information provided by wind energy company Mitsui in ‘reasonable time.’
VCAT’s determination on the Department of Planning’s handling of the Bald Hills wind farm project application reveals what appears to be a deliberate attempt by the government to slow down wind energy approvals process. “The only conclusion that can be drawn,” says Friends of the Earth campaigns co-ordinator Cam Walker, “is that the government is acting to frustrate wind energy development.” Continue reading
1 This month
7 April – WEBINAR – Australia and the Doomsday Clock – Preventing nuclear war through NoFirstUse and other policies
Online | Tuesday April 7, 4:00-5:30pm, Australian Eastern Time / 8:00-9:30am Central Europe Time
– Access the registration link
15 April – Zoom –Nuclear Power is Not the Solution
Apr 15, 2026 01:00 AM in Canberra, Melbourne, Sydney
Join the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW) on Tuesday, April 14th for a timely webinar exploring the risks associated with nuclear power and challenging the myth that it offers a simple, safe, carbon-free solution to the climate crisis
of the week – Australians for War Powers Reform (AWPR)
To see nuclear-related stories in greater depth and intensity
Antinuclear 