Government may target Western Australia for radioactive trash dump
Mr Sweeney said substantial nuclear waste was created at Australia’s nuclear reactor Lucas Heights, 31 kilometres from the Sydney CBD, and not medical waste from cancer treatments and scientific research as the government has previously stated.
“Nuclear medicine is not the driver,” Mr Sweeney said.
“It’s deeply misrepresentative. The government has been asked not to use this language.”
Western Australia in nation’s nuclear waste dump sights SMH, Leanne Nicholson, 12 Nov 13 Australia’s nuclear waste could be dumped in Western Australia if a Federal Court challenge by traditional owners against a Northern Territory site selected by the federal government is successful.
WA, the only state with a dedicated low-level nuclear waste storage facility, has been identified by leading environmental group Australian Conservation Foundation as a legitimate option for a national nuclear waste dump if a challenge by Muckaty Station traditional owners is upheld.
Traditional owners will contest plans for the proposed low-level and intermediate level nuclear waste dump, selected by the then-Gillard government in 2010, on the Aboriginal freehold landholding, also known as Warlmanpa. The challenge states the nomination of Muckaty is invalid and the Northern Land Council did not correctly identify the traditional owners, did not consult adequately and did not get proper consent before recommending the site.
ACF’s nuclear free campaign director Dave Sweeney told Fairfax Media that if the challenge was successful, WA – previously named as a possible site for nuclear waste storage – would be considered a feasible location. “Clearly if Muckaty falls over,” Mr Sweeney said, “everywhere is going to come back into the frame and WA wasn’t ticked off but it was in the frame.
“See in 12 to 18 months [after the Federal Court challenge] what happens. “And unless the federal government has realised there’s a better way for this to be addressed, then yes, pretty much a large part of Australia will be under the consideration and WA is a large part of Australia.”
WA’s low-level nuclear waste is stored at the Mt Walton East Intractable Waste Disposal Facility, about 480 kilometres north-east of Perth, and managed by a division of the WA Department of Finance.
According to the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation’s most recent management of nuclear waste report, WA is the country’s only low-level waste disposal facility ANSTO states that Queensland has “facilities in place for some management of some classes of radioactive waste”.
“Australia does not have an operating low level waste disposal facility except for the Mount Walton Intractable Waste Disposal Facility, in Western Australia, used for the disposal of low-level waste produced in that state,” the report states.
“As a result Australia’s low-level and intermediate-level waste is held at a host of widely dispersed locations across the country.”
Mr Sweeney said former governments had dismissed previously suggested sites as rumours only to later announce their suitability.
“The government made clear promises at different times ‘it won’t be going here, it won’t be going here’.
“There were assurances there was absolutely no way that it was going to the Northern Territory and three months after the 2004 election, bang, the territory had it.
“Yes, it’s a concern for WA.”………
Mr Sweeney said substantial nuclear waste was created at Australia’s nuclear reactor Lucas Heights, 31 kilometres from the Sydney CBD, and not medical waste from cancer treatments and scientific research as the government has previously stated.
“Nuclear medicine is not the driver,” Mr Sweeney said.
“It’s deeply misrepresentative.
The government has been asked not to use this language.”
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