Antinuclear

Store nuclear waste at Lucas Heights -no need to rush to outback site

Alice Springs public meeting told Feds must stop rushing decision on new nuke dump sites http://www.ntnews.com.au/news/centralian-advocate/alice-springs-public-meeting-told-feds-must-stop-rushing-decision-on-new-nuke-dump-sites/news-story/53e8aefa3cd67d076e36c749c2913f7a    December 10, 2015 SCIENTISTS, traditional owners, politicians and campaigners spoke to a crowd of almost 100 people at a meeting about a proposed nuclear waste dump to be housed at Hale, 80km from Alice Springs, on Monday night.

Dr Hilary Tyler, from Alice Springs Hospital, used the platform to urge decision-makers to “stop the rush” towards cementing plans for a waste facility, which is currently being chosen from six short-listed sites across the country.

She claimed there was 10-20 years of storage space remaining at the Lucas Heights facility near Sydney, Australia’s only nuclear reactor, rendering the need for a rural site as unnecessary.

She showed the crowd photographs of large barrels being transported by road, carrying a cargo of nuclear waste reportedly brought to Australia by ship at the weekend.

“Transportation should be minimised,” she said.

The site at Hale, the Aridgold date farm, was an unsuitable location for such a dump, she claimed, due to the distance the waste would need to travel, the lack of access for experts in case of any problems, and proximity to underground water aquifers. CSIRO scientist Dr Fiona Walsh said she believed the decisions were being made by people in distant locations with no understanding of the geology of Central Australia.

“We live in one of the most unpredictable environments in the world,” Dr Walsh said.

Labor candidate for Namatjira and councillor Chansey Paech also spoke at the event, and said the decision should be “based on science rather than political expediency”.

A consultation process into the viability of the waste dump is currently underway, with meetings between officials and Aboriginal traditional owners in Santa Teresa to take place next week.

Due to sorry business in Titjikala, the other nearest community to the proposed site, a meeting with traditional owners from this area will take place early next year.

A decision on where the dump will be housed is expected to be made following the federal election in the second half of 2016.

December 16, 2015 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Northern Territory, opposition to nuclear