Antinuclear

Doubts on the future of ERA’s Ranger uranium project

Investigation as radioactive leak leaves Ranger uranium mine under a cloud SMH, Lucy Battersby and Peter Ker December 9, 2013 The future of Australia’s oldest uranium mine is under renewed scrutiny, after a tank holding more than a million litres of radioactive slurry burst at the weekend, sparking a federal investigation.

The accident prompted traditional land owners to describe the Ranger uranium mine as a ”hillbilly operation” with too little regulation. The mine has a history of safety breaches and unions have raised concerns about maintenance standards at the 33-year-old operation……

The Rio Tinto subsidiary in charge of the mine – Energy Resources of Australia – insisted the cocktail of radioactive uranium and industrial acids had not leaked into the neighbouring Kakadu park, but Environment Minister Greg Hunt declared the incident ”unacceptable” and called for an investigation…….

The Australian Conservation Foundation and Environment Centre NT called for an immediate halt and no further expansion at Ranger. A protest at ERA’s Darwin offices was planned for Monday morning.

Uranium supplies at Ranger mine have nearly been exhausted, and ERA has been counting on a new underground expansion to keep the mine going. But it must get approval from the traditional owners of the area, the Mirarr people, for the expansion. The chief executive of the Gundjeihmi Aboriginal Corporation, which represents the Mirarr, said people no longer felt safe living near Ranger mine.

”This is  nothing but a hillbilly operation, run by a hillbilly miner with hillbilly regulators,” Justin O’Brien said. ”Based on the woefully inadequate government response to the previous incident, we have no confidence that this will be taken seriously enough.”…..

The Australian Manufacturing Workers Union’s Northern Territory organiser, Bryan Wilkins, called for a full independent inquiry into ERA’s maintenance program at the mine site.

”Obviously there has been a failure in their maintenance program and that has put the workers at that mine site at risk,” Mr Wilkins said.

People well acquainted with Ranger said the incident did not reflect well on maintenance standards at the mine, which should have ensured that the acids in the tank were not able to cause such significant amounts of corrosion to cause a leak. http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/investigation-as-radioactive-leak-leaves-ranger-uranium-mine-under-a-cloud-20131208-2yzeo.html

December 9, 2013 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Northern Territory, safety, uranium