Another lithium mine opened in Western Australia
WA’s newest lithium mine plans to double down, WA Today By Hamish Hastie, 5 September 2018 Western Australia’s newest lithium mine was officially opened this morning, marking the seventh operating mine in the state.
Altura Mining’s 100 per cent-owned Pilgangoora lithium mine is located 90 kilometres south-east of Port Hedland and will support 130 ongoing jobs. The mine will produce about 220,000 tonnes per annum of lithium spodumene concentrate but the company is already considering plans to double production to tap into growing global battery demand for electric vehicles and storage.
The Pilgangoora lithium deposit currently has an ore reserve estimate of 41.1 million tonnes…..
Beyond just exporting lithium the state government’s lithium and energy materials industry taskforce is investigating the state’s ability to produce and process lithium and other energy materials.
The taskforce will present a lithium and energy materials strategy to cabinet over the next few months……https://www.watoday.com.au/business/companies/wa-s-newest-lithium-mine-plans-to-double-down-20180905-p501v3.html?crpt=index
Walkatjurra anti-uranium Walkabout completed
The Walkatjurra Walkabout has finished with a storm (literally)! An awesome walk into Leonora with lots of support to keep WA nuclear free. A successful public meeting the following day having CCWA Director Piers Verstegen come into Leonora to support the community and in particular the three Tjiwarl native title holders, Shirley, Lizzy and Vicky on the court challenge that included a visit to the proposed radioactive waste dump. You can see photos and read about their adventures here.
Traditional owners steadfast in 40-years opposition to uranium mining
Fighting for life in the “place of death”https://beyondnuclearinternational.org/2018/08/27/fighting-for-life-in-the-place-of-death/ August 27, 2018
Traditional owners won’t give up 40-year opposition to Yeelirrie uranium mine, By Linda Pentz Gunter
In the local Aboriginal language, the name Yeelirrie means to weep or mourn. It is referred to as a “place of death.” Yeelirrie is on Tjiwarl Native Title lands in Western Australia, where it has long been faithfully protected by Aboriginal traditional owners. The Seven Sisters Dreaming songline is there. It is home to many important cultural sites. And for 40 years, due to resolute indigenous opposition, and thousands of community submissions of protest, it had been spared plans by the Canadian mining company, Cameco, to plunder it for uranium.
The earth guardians know that such a desecration would cause the extinction of multiple species of subterranean fauna. It would release death. It would destroy Yeelirrie.
Now the fate of those tiny creatures hangs in the balance, their future in the hands of three brave women, backed by environmental organizations, after the outgoing Western Australian government decided to allow the Yeelirrie uranium mine project to go forward.
That decision was made in January 2017, despite the fact that, in August 2016, the Western Australia Environmental Protection Agency (WAEPA) had recommended that the Yeelirrie project be rejected.
The Conservation Council of Western Australia (CCWA), which is engaged in contesting the uranium mining permit for Yeelirrie, said the WAEPA had rejected the Yeelirrie mine plan “on the grounds that the project is inconsistent with three of the objectives of the Environmental Protection Act — the Precautionary Principle, the Principle of conservation of biological diversity, and the Principle of intergenerational equity. The EPA decision was based on the overwhelming evidence that the project would make several species of subterranean fauna extinct.”
But former Minister for Environment, Albert Jacob, threw all that aside to approve the Yeelirrie mine in the waning days of Western Australia’s Liberal government, now replaced by Labor, which came in on a mandate to end uranium mining that it now may not be able to enforce.
In February 2018, CCWA and three members of the Tjiwarl community initiated proceedings in the Western Australia Supreme Court in an attempt to invalidate the approval decision made by Jacob. The case was dismissed by the court, a decision said CCWA executive director, Piers Verstegen, that shows that “our environmental laws are deeply inadequate,” and “confines species to extinction with the stroke of a pen.”
However, while the decision was a set-back, Verstegen said, “it’s absolutely not the end of the road for Yeelirrie or the other uranium mines that are being strongly contested here in Western Australia.”
Accordingly, CCWA and the three Tjiwarl women — Shirley Wonyabong, Elizabeth Wonyabong, and Vicky Abdullah (pictured left to right above the headline) vow to fight on, and have begun proceedings in the WA Court of Appeal to review the Supreme Court decision.
“I grew up here, my ancestors were Traditional Owners of country, and I don’t want a toxic legacy here for my grandchildren,” Abdullah told Western Australia Today in an August 2017 article.
“We have no choice but to defend our country, our culture, and the environment from the threat of uranium mining — not just for us but for everyone.”
Yeelirrie is one of four uranium mines proposed for Western Australia. The other three are Vimy’s Mulga Rock project, Toro Energy’s Wiluna project, and Cameco’s and Mitsubishi’s Kintyre project. Each of them is home to precious species, but Yeelirrie got special attention from the WAEPA because the proposed mine there would cause actual extinctions of 11 species, mostly tiny underground creatures that few people ever see.
According to a new animated short film, produced by the Western Australia Nuclear-Free Alliance, all four of these proposed mines could irreparably damage wildlife, habitat and the health of the landscape and the people and animals who depend on it. The film highlights Yeelirrie, but also describes the other three proposed uranium mines and the threats they pose.
At Mulga Rock, in the Queen Victoria Desert, the site is home to the Sandhill Dunnart, the Marsupial Mole, the Mulgara and the Rainbow Bee Eater, according to the film.
Wiluna, a unique desert lake system, could see uranium mining across two salt lakes that would leave 50 million tonnes of radioactive mine waste on the shores of Lake Way, which is prone to flooding.
The Kintyre uranium deposit was excluded from the protection of the Karlamilyi National Park within which it sits so that uranium could be mined there. It is a fragile desert ecosystem where 28 threatened species would be put at risk, including the Northern Quoll, Greater Bilby, Crest Tailed Mulgara, Marsupial Mole and Rock Wallaby.
At Yeelirrie, says the CCWA, “Cameco plans to construct a 9km open mine pit and uranium processing plant. The project would destroy 2,421 hectares of native vegetation and generate 36 million tonnes of radioactive mine waste to be stored in open pits.”
The mine would likely operate for 22 years and use 8.7 million litres of water a day.
Under Australian laws, ‘nuclear actions’ like the Yeelirrie proposal also require approval by the Federal Environment Minister. CCWA and Nuclear-Free Western Australia, have launched a campaign directed at Federal Environment Minister, Josh Frydenberg, calling for a halt to the Yeelirrie mine, given the immense risk it poses to “unique subterranean fauna that have been found nowhere else on the planet.” They point out that the Minister has the opportunity to “protect these unique species from becoming extinct.
“Species have a right to life no matter how great or small,” they wrote. “One extinction can massively disrupt an entire ecosystem. No one should have the right to knowingly eliminate an entire species from our planet forever.”
Western Australia: Aboriginal Elders take action against uranium mining
Aboriginal Elders Face Off with Uranium Mining Co. in the Australian Outback, Earth Island Journal , BY ELIZABETH MURRAY – AUGUST 27, 2018
With four new mines approved in the Western Desert, the Tjiwarl turn to courts for help
Members of one of Australia’s most remote Aboriginal nations, the Tjiwarl, who live in the red heart of the Western Desert lands, are embroiled in a long running battle to protect their ancestral home from mining interests.
Last year, the government of Western Australia approved four new uranium projects in the state, despite warnings issued by the Western Australian Environmental Protection Authority, and a global slump in the price of uranium.
Two of the projects, in Yeelirrie and Kintyre, belong to the Canadian mining giant Cameco. The other two are by Australia-based companies, Vimy Resources and Toro Energy.
While uranium use is banned in Australia it holds 33 percent of the world’s uranium deposits, and, it is the world’s third-largest producer of the mineral after Kazakhstan and Canada. Seen as controversial among Australian politicians and unpopular with electorates, uranium operations have drawn both federal and state government bans at various times.
In February this year, the Supreme Court of Western Australia backed the expedited approval of the Yeelirrie uranium project granted by the previous state government in January 2017, but recognized the duty of the Tjiwarl applicants as cultural custodians of Yeelirrie, to preserve those lands. Tjiwarl Elders, Elizabeth and Shirley Wonyabong, and Tjiwarl Traditional Owner Vicky Abdullah, are now appealing that Supreme Court decision, with the support of the Conservation Council of WA.
Western Desert Aboriginal nations have battled against uranium mining on their lands for forty years. It is just one of the many struggles they have faced to preserve their 40,000 year-old culture and spiritual connections to the land in the face of contemporary society’s competing priorities…….
Conservation Council of Western Australia Director, Piers Verstegen, said that the Yeelirrie approval had undermined the existing environmental protection framework. He said the approval “knowingly allows the extinction of multiple species” in Yeelirrie and “treats the EPA and its environmental assessment as something to be casually dismissed.”…….
If the Tjiwarl appeal was successful, it would restore the normal approval process and protect it from political influence, he said. Conversely, if it fails, governments in Western Australia will forever be able to use ministerial oversight to override the independent authority of the Environmental Protection Agency.
The council has previously expressed alarm over the Yeelirrie project’s proposal to clear 2421 hectares of native vegetation for a 9 km-open-pit mine, which they estimate could generate 36 million tons of radioactive waste.
Dr. Euan Ritchie, Associate Professor in Wildlife Ecology and Conservation at Deakin University, independent of the proceedings, said some remote regions are under-surveyed and Yeelirrie may fit that category. In such a circumstance, “where the fauna is unique…species that are not found in other areas, and/or it is in an area that is under-surveyed…there’s a risk of inadvertently having a negative effect on species because of our lack of understanding of what species are there.”
He said important research is developing in relation to cryptic species (species that are morphologically similar but genetically different, and unable to interbreed).
Thorough surveys of plant, animal and other organisms in the area of potential developments were vital, above and below ground, he stressed. The impact of uranium on water resources can be critical for many species in the food chain over a wide expanse, he added, and could extend well beyond the boundaries of a project.
Apart from the delicate, unique ecology of Yeelirrie, the area also includes multiple ancient Aboriginal spiritual sites there are so sacred that they cannot even be discussed or explained in open court or media……..
Cameco Australia has decided not to proceed with the Yeelirrie project until there’s renewed market demand for uranium. Additionally, in Cameco’s 2017 third-quarter report, the company’s global chief Tim Gitzel said “difficult conditions” were continuing and there had been “little change in the market.” In fact, earlier this year, just a week before the Tjiwarl filed their appeal against the project, Cameco suspended two more of its key mines in Canada, citing the global glut and the company’s own large inventory. ……
Financial pundits have also questioned if uranium prices can ever make a comeback with the growing strength of renewables on the market. http://www.earthisland.org/journal/index.php/elist/eListRead/aboriginal_elders_face_off_with_uranium_mining_co._in_the_australian_outbac/
Last week of the Walkatjurra Walkabout
Nuclear Free WA, K-A Garlick, 29 Aug 18 It’s the last week of the Walkatjurra Walkabout! Over 60 people have walked through awesome country in support and solidarity with Traditional Owners to stop uranium mine projects on their country. From Lake Way in Wiluna to the gates of Yeelirrie and finally finishing in Leonora this week they have walked over 250kms to raise awareness about this toxic industry that would destroy beautiful land, water and communities. The walk will finish with a public meeting in Leonora to share messages from the Walkatjurra Walkabout and to give updates on the Yeelirrie court challenge and the proposed national radioactive waste dump. You can see photos and read about their adventures here.
We welcome the new Federal Environment Minister, Melissa Price, Member for Durak, WA that includes Wiluna and Yeelirrie in her electorate not to Federally approve the Yeelirrrie uranium project and look forward to working with her on this issue.
Looking forward to seeing you all at the Projections at Parliament event on the 11th September to send a clear and important message to the WA Government to ban uranium mining permanently. See below for further details.
If you haven’t seen it … please watch and share the short 2 min video Uranium: West Australia under threat to make uranium mining extinct – not WAs unique species.
Burrup peninsula rock art: Western Australia to seek World Heritage Listing
‘A Senate report warning of damage to the 50,000-year-old treasures
has persuaded the state government to act’ Calla Wahlquist
@callapilla,27 Aug 2018
‘The Western Australian government has formally committed to
pursuing world heritage status for the Burrup peninsula,
one of the oldest and richest examples of rock art in the world.
‘It comes five months after a Senate inquiry report into managing the site warned that the cumulative emissions from heavy industry on the peninsula, centred around the north-west shelf gas project, could be damaging
the surface of the rock art and causing it to degrade.
‘The step towards nomination has been welcomed by rock art experts,
who say it is one of the most significant archeological sites in the southern hemisphere.
‘“The thing that is unique about this is that it covers almost the entire origin of the north-west coast of Australia, and it is hunter-gatherers from the bottom to the top,”
director of the University of Western Australia’s centre for rock art
research and management, Jo McDonald, said.
“Nowhere else has it covered 50,000 years of hunter-gatherer human history.” … ‘ Read more of Calla Wahlquist‘s ground-breaking & comprehensive & well-researchedarticle:
www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/aug/27/burrup-peninsula-rock-art-western-australia-to-seek-world-heritage-listing
Despite weather extremes the grand Walkatjurra Walkabout against uranium mining presses on
K-A Garlick at Nuclear Free WA, 15 Aug 18 The Walkatjurra Walkabout have survived the first 10 days of the protest walk in freezing overnight temperatures and long hot walking days. Walking strong a group of 55 people gathered at Yeelirrie to support Traditional Owners, Aunty Shirley, Lizzie Wonyabong and Vicky Abdhullah in their 40-year struggle to stop the proposed Yeelirrie uranium mine.
The three women have shared stories of the area where they and their families grew up on. and their ancestors grew up. The group was joined by Youno Downs Station, who shared stories of the history of uranium exploration and company intimidation over the years they have lived on the pastoralist station. “Water is what the company is after, they (Cameco) need up to 10 millions of litres of water and they want us to give it to them!” ……. to be continued!
Azark compares Western Australian site with South Australian sites for nuclear waste dump
Submission AZARK PROJECT to Senate Inquiry (submission No 110) Attachment 1Leonora W.A. site geologically, environmentally better suited to waste dump than is Kimba S.A.
Technical assessment information for the Azark Project at Leonora compared to the AECOM Characterisation Project for Kimba – February 2018
Seismic Survey Continue reading
Western Australia based Azark wants nuclear waste dump site to be Leonora, W.A.
Calls for a nuclear waste facility in WA. Business News Western Australia, 7 August 18 Western Australia based Azark projects is calling on the Federal government to review its preference for a nuclear waste storage facility in South Australia, with the George Gear led company proposing Leonora as a more suitable location……. https://www.businessnews.com.au/article/Calls-for-nuclear-waste-facility-in-WA
Monte Bello Islands remain a nuclear radiation risk
Montebello Islands are a nuclear radiation risk, but boaters and campers flout the rules, ABC North West WA By Susan Standen , 17 June 18
Kimberley Land Council (KLC and agencies) wrong about Sovereignty
Ghillar, Michael Anderson 7 June 2018 ‘While the Kimberley Land Council (KLC) and theAustralian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS)
convene the Native Title conference in Broome, hosted by the Yawuru People,
Anderson shines another light on the KLC and its agencies’ agenda.'”Since I’ve left Warmun the community has been bombarded by yet another Native Title meeting run by KLC agencies.
Again, Senior Elders were bullied to attend but they have reassured me proudly, ‘I didn’t sign anything.'”In their reliable report-back they joked about the way the KLC Legal advisor, Douglas D’Antione,
was telling them lies about sovereignty.
“He said that the only way to get sovereignty is by conquering and that you need
an army and navy to get sovereignty, like the English people did!!
“He then said that the second way to get sovereignty was for the owners just to say:
“OK, here. This is yours.”
At no time did he acknowledge that First Nations sovereignty is pre-existing
and continuing and is the basis of the continental common law.”
~ Ghillar, Michael Anderson
‘Having looked at the map of the Native Title applications’ areas and
then comparing those maps with the Kimberley tourist topographical map
being sold in stands in garages and newsagencies and information centres,
I realised that the KLC agencies are demanding the Peoples authority
to put a massive Native Title application over a vast area of land that
is already reserved under the WA State law as being set aside
exclusively for the use of Aborigines only.
‘I informed the people that they are about to, or have,
authorised a Native Title application to go over a massive area of land
that they already own through the Aboriginal Land Trust of Western Australia
and it is exclusively theirs, if their families came from these particular lands.
‘When I asked the people why they would authorise such a claim they all said
KLC agencies never informed them of this fact at all.
‘The KLC agencies fail to provide documents ahead of the meetings,
try to prevent independent legal advice and
do not give back copies of any papers the people may have signed,
or have been coerced to sign.
‘I am now informed that the people of Warmun and surrounding areas
have made a decision to dismiss the KLC, KRED Legal and ARMA, EHSIS
and other KLC agencies from having anything to do with their lands and waters.
‘They are understanding the KLC agencies plan to
take over negotiations to enable mining on their lands.
‘I am informed that the people are now gathering in significant numbers
and will inform the Federal Court that they no longer wish to
pursue the Native Title determinations, because as one of the
Senior Elders, Mr. Patrick Mung, has said with words to the effect:
“For too long we have been signing papers for KLC and its agencies
and there are a lot of things going on on our lands,
but look at us, we have nothing.
“When we ask for royalty money they tell us there is not enough in the bucket.
We don’t want these people any more.
We joined KLC because they said we were being ripped off.
But now we have just gone from one rip off to another.” … ‘
Read more of Ghillar’s comprehensive, well-researched, challenging media statement here:
nationalunitygovernment.org/content/kimberley-land-council-klc-agencies-wrong-about-sovereignty
Supreme Court appeal lodged against Yeelirrie uranium mining approval decision
9/3 /18 The Conservation Council of WA (CCWA) and members of the Tjiwarl Native Title group have announced the filing of an appeal against the Supreme Court’s recent decision which upheld the environmental approval for the Yeelirrie uranium mine proposal.
The Supreme Court challenge brought by CCWA and Native Title holders sought to overturn the environmental approval for the mine issued in the final days of the Barnett Government, against the advice of the WA Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) and the Minister’s own appeal decision. If it goes ahead, the project will cause the extinction of multiple species unique to the Yeelirrie area.
CCWA Director Piers Verstegen said allowing the Supreme Court’s interpretation of the law to go unchallenged would be bad for the environment and bad for democracy.
“The decision to appeal this judgement highlights our commitment to preventing extinction and upholding what we believe are fundamental principles of environmental law.
“If this decision is allowed to stand then the Environment Minister could sign off on the extinction of multiple species with the stroke of a pen, despite what the EPA and appeals processes say.
“According to the Supreme Court ruling, we can have a detailed, thorough, publicly funded environmental assessment process, with all the key information examined in the public domain, followed by a rigorous appeals process, and then the Minister can totally disregard that whole process and make a different decision based on different information that is not available to the public.
“This treats the EPA and its environmental assessment as something to be casually dismissed. Western Australians expect and deserve better government than that.
“CCWA and community groups fought for WA’s environmental protection laws and the EPA. Now, it is again up to community to defend the integrity of those laws and processes in the courts. This is essential to uphold due process in environmental decisions, and to restore confidence in the EPA.
“The WA Environmental Protection Act was never intended to be used to sanction the extinction of wildlife, and it is our responsibility to do everything we can to ensure that it is not used in this way.
“The Yeelirrie approval knowingly allows extinction of multiple species and this should never be contemplated. We must stand up for all creatures, great and small.
“Allowing the extinction of any creature could open the door for other species to be treated in the same way. Numbats, cockatoos and other wildlife could be next, so we can’t allow it to start here.”
Vicky Abdullah, Tjiwarl Native Title Holder, said, “We have fought long and hard to protect Yeelirrie and to stop the uranium project, so we will not stop now.
“This appeal shows that we will continue to fight for our country and our people, and hope that the Court of Appeal will see that the decision to approve the Yeelirrie uranium project was wrong”.
Yeelirree uranium project Court decision – “a bad decision, but not the end decision”
‘Sad day for our people, our land’: Appeal fails against Yeelirrie uranium mine in WA’s Mid West, http://www.watoday.com.au/wa-news/sad-day-for-our-people-our-land-appeal-fails-against-yeelirrie-uranium-mine-in-was-mid-west-20180208-h0vrpr.html
Conservationists and Tjiwarl traditional owners will continue to fight the approval for a uranium mine in central WA despite losing a Supreme Court appeal.
Former state environment minister Albert Jacob gave the green light to Cameco’s Yeelirrie mine proposal in January last year, just 16 days before the pre- election caretaker mode began.
The Conservation Council of WA and traditional owners fear unique subterranean fauna in the area will be made extinct if the project proceeds.
Chief Justice Wayne Martin determined on Thursday that the appeal against the ministerial decision should be dismissed. Costs will be determined at a later date.
Tjiwarl native title holder Vicky Abdullah said the court case was only part of the campaign . “This is a very disappointing and sad day for our people, our land, and our future,” she said. “We have fought long and hard to protect Yeelirrie and stop the uranium project. “It’s a bad decision, but it’s not the end decision.”
The ministerial endorsement was subject to 17 conditions, including the Canadian company undertaking further surveys and research into stygofauna and troglofauna to minimise impacts on the tiny underground creatures.
Mr Verstegen said he always knew the appeal would result in either the uranium approval being ruled invalid or the environmental laws being exposed as inadequate.
“Today’s ruling shows that indeed our environmental laws are deeply inadequate,” he said.
There is still a federal decision pending, with the WA appeal delaying the process by months.
“It is now up to the commonwealth government to take a rigorous approach to the environmental assessment of this project rather than just relying on the shonky assessment that was done under the Barnett government,” Mr Verstegen said.
“We call on the federal government not to approve extinction at Yeelirrie.”
Mr Verstegen said advice would be sought on whether further legal action was possible. Regarding costs, he said lawyers would argue it was a public interest case and they should not have to bear the full costs.
Western Australia nuclear waste enthusiast Glenn Baker shows his ignorance of the real purpose of nuclear dump
Is Mr Baker ignorant, or disingenuous?
In his enthusiasm Mr Baker seems unaware that the processed nuclear waste returning from France is classified there as high level waste. The proposed dump for radioactive wastes in outback Australia is obviously intended to store those long-lasting toxic wastes. Australia’s nuclear reactor in Lucas Heights, Sydney produces these dangerous wastes, just the same as any other nuclear reactor.
The Leonora man behind plan for a radioactive waste dump in outback WA, ABC Goldfields ,By Jarrod Lucas, 23 Nov 17, A mining entrepreneur who came to WA’s northern Goldfields during the 1960s nickel boom is behind a new bid to develop an outback repository to store the nation’s radioactive waste.
The Shire of Leonora this week voted 5-2 in favour of joining forces with a private company, headed by former councillor Glenn Baker, to make a bid for Commonwealth funding to fast-track the project.
The council sought legal advice and waited until after last month’s local government elections before voting on the proposal to store medical, industrial and scientific waste underground.
The proposed site is on Clover Downs pastoral station, about 20 kilometres north-west of Leonora……..
Conflict of interest was a deal breaker for council
Mr Baker is a director of Azark Project Proprietary Limited alongside his business partner, Perth-based corporate lawyer and mining executive Peter Remta, with whom he has developed several gold mining projects since the 1980s.
The 79-year-old was behind a previous proposal for a waste storage site that failed to progress in 2015, and he quit the council last month after more than 30 years because of the conflict of interest.
“Now there is no conflict of interest, but it did come up a few times and I left the meetings on those occasions,” he said………
Residents could be offered shares in waste company
Mr Baker flagged the possibility of Leonora residents eventually being given the opportunity to invest in the company.
He described as “mind-boggling” the funds being dangled by the Federal Government, which has been searching for a site to establish a national radioactive waste management facility for more than a decade……
Sites in South Australia and the Northern Territory have been considered, but lengthy environmental assessments and community consultation mean a final decision is not expected until next year…….
Sites in South Australia and the Northern Territory have been considered, but lengthy environmental assessments and community consultation mean a final decision is not expected until next year……..
Traditional landowner Vicky Abdullah said she had previously organised a petition with 500 signatures opposing the project.
“From my point of view, they can do it somewhere else, not in Leonora,” she said.
Ms Abdullah said the local Indigenous community was yet to be effectively consulted about the revived proposal.
Environmentalists opposed to facility in outback WA
Australian Conservation Foundation nuclear campaigner Dave Sweeney said it was a long way from a “bad council decision” to a national radioactive waste dump in outback WA.
“It is pretty much radioactive groundhog day,” he said.
“It’s come up before in Leonora, and there was a strong and negative response from many there in the community.
“I’m obviously disappointed Leonora has put itself back in this frame, because it’s a divisive place to be.”
Mr Sweeney suggested it would not just be for low-level radioactive material.
“This has nothing to do with nuclear medicine, and everything to do with the operations of the Lucas Heights reactor,” he said.
Mr Baker disputed that point, saying it was one of the misconceptions about what was being proposed.
“People are confused when we talk about radiation … this is not a nuclear waste disposal facility,” he said.
“Australia does not have a nuclear industry, so has no nuclear waste to bury. That’s uranium 235 which is used in atomic bombs, powerhouses etc.
“This is another isotope of uranium and has a much shorter decay life, some of it only a matter of months, and it’s not to be confused with nuclear-powered radiation like Chernobyl and Fukushima.” http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-11-23/leonora-man-behind-plan-for-radioactive-waste-dump-in-outback-wa/9184020?pfmredir=sm&%3Bsf174104777=1
1 This month
of the week – Australians for War Powers Reform (AWPR)
To see nuclear-related stories in greater depth and intensity
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