Agriculture ministers raise ‘serious’ concern over nuclear plans
Canberra Times, By Stephanie Gardiner, July 18 2024
Farmers deserve answers on how the federal coalition’s nuclear energy plan could impact food production, with Australia’s agriculture ministers joining forces to raise concern.
Ministers from every state and territory affected by the opposition’s nuclear proposal released a joint statement on Thursday, saying they had a duty to protect the future of the agriculture industry.
“We have serious concerns that this duty would be compromised by the federal opposition’s proposal for nuclear power in and around prime agricultural land,” it said.
Ministers from every state and territory affected by the opposition’s nuclear proposal released a joint statement on Thursday, saying they had a duty to protect the future of the agriculture industry.
“We have serious concerns that this duty would be compromised by the federal opposition’s proposal for nuclear power in and around prime agricultural land,” it said.
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton announced the nuclear strategy a month ago, flagging reactors at coal power station sites in NSW, Queensland, Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia.
More than 11,000 farms would be within an 80km radius of the seven earmarked sites, according to a analysis released by the federal government.
Under international standards, that radius is classified as an “ingestion exposure pathway” in which people may be left vulnerable to radiation through contaminated food, milk and water in the event of a nuclear accident.
US farmers in those zones are obliged to take on preventative measures during an emergency, such as providing livestock with separate feed and water, holding shipments and decontaminating produce.
Leaks have been detected in groundwater at 37 out of 54 nuclear sites in the US since 1979, though the radioactive material dissipates quickly and is rarely found outside reactor boundaries, according to a Nuclear Regulatory Commission report.
Australia’s agriculture ministers called on the coalition to explain to farmers how its nuclear vision would sit alongside the sector.
“”It’s about time the federal opposition provided some answers … about where the water will come from,” Agriculture Minister Murray Watt said ahead of a meeting of the group in Brisbane on Thursday.
“What would happen in the event of a nuclear accident? And what preparations (would) they be making to prepare for such an event?”
When Senator Watt made similar comments during an address to the Global Food Forum on Wednesday, Nationals leader David Littleproud accused Labor of scaremongering and hypocrisy………………….. more https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/8699403/ag-ministers-raise-serious-concern-over-nuclear-plans/
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