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.
Bathurst – oldest inland city – No to ‘newest nuclear waste dump’ !
Bathurst business group concerned about nuclear dump proposal http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-11-27/bathurst-business-group-concerned-about-nuclear-dump-proposal/6978472 By Gavin Coote A Bathurst business group says it is unconvinced of the economic benefits being touted for a shortlisted nuclear waste site in the district.
Dozens of people packed a hall in Hill End yesterday to hear about the Federal Government’s proposal to store the material at nearby Sallys Flat.
The Bathurst Business Chamber says the $10 million sweetener on offer to the selected community would not offset the potential economic losses.
The president Stacey Whittaker said there could be ramifications for the local tourism and agriculture sectors if the proposal went ahead. “I don’t think it’s bringing anything positive to the region,” Ms Whittaker said. “We’ve got a lot of small businesses by way of farming out in the that area which I think are certainly more important and have put more back into the community and the area than a nuclear waste dump will ever do.”
Sallys Flat is one of six sites shortlisted for the facility, and government officials have told the forum it would not pose a safety threat.
Ms Whittaker said the stigma surrounding nuclear waste could draw unnecessary negativity to the area. “Certainly from the local business side of things in town itself of Bathurst, people are a bit concerned.
“You know Bathurst, oldest inland city in Australia and first nuclear waste dump. “That’s not a real good title, is it?”
3 South Australian sites picked for nuclear trash toilet, but locals resist
The indigenous group Adnyamathanha Camp Law Mob says while the property is governed by a perpetual lease, meaning no native title claim can be lodged over the area, Aboriginal heritage legislation does apply.
“We demand that the Federal Resources Minister Josh Frydenberg publicly declare who he has consulted regarding these nominations, and who has the authority to nominate these sites,” spokeswoman Jillian Marsh said in a statement.
Cortlinye and Pinkawillinie KIMBA is known as “the Gateway to the Gawler Ranges”. But some residents fear the township would become known as “the Gateway to the National Nuclear Waste Facility” should it be selected as the future site to store radioactive waste. Local farmers Toni Scott, Sue Woolford, Helen Harris and their families have vowed to fight any move to build the facility in their district.
“They’re saying this is a voluntary process but how is this voluntary?,” Mrs Scott said.
“We’re not volunteering, we don’t want any money and we don’t want to live next to it.’’
The group vowed to be vocal during the Federal Government’s consultation in Kimba next week
Nuclear waste repository in SA: What do the locals think? The Advertiser, 22 Nov 2015 BRYAN LITTLELY, PAUL STARICK and MEAGAN DILLON PICKING a site for a nuclear dump is as contentious a decision as you will find. Whichever of the six Australia-wide candidates that is chosen to be the nation’s nuclear repository will acquire a degree of notoriety.
South Australia is home to three potential dump locations. Continue reading
Queensland govt joins community in ‘major concerns’ over nuclear waste facility at Oman-ama
Queensland Government says it has ‘major concerns’ over nuclear waste
facility at Oman-ama RENEE VIELLARIS FEDERAL POLITICS THE COURIER-MAIL NOVEMBER 20, 2015
THE State Government could team up with a local community to stop a proposed nuclear dump. A landholder at Oman Ama, 250km southwest of Brisbane, is competing against five other locations across Australia to become the nation’s first nuclear dump site.
The news shocked local residents throughout the Darling Downs, with some fearing terrorists attacks and worried for their long-term health.
The Commonwealth Department of Industry, Innovation and Science sent representatives to meet with residents at Inglewood this week.
Energy Minister Mark Bailey said the State Government was given limited information about the Turnbull Government’s recent announcement about its preferred sites.“Queensland currently prohibits the construction of a facility to hold nuclear waste, under the Nuclear Facilities Prohibition Act. The Government has no plans to alter the legislation,” Mr Bailey told The Courier-Mail yesterday.
“The Queensland Government has major concerns that a nuclear waste dump could be located so close to a community.”…….http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/queensland-government-says-it-has-major-concerns-over-nuclear-waste-facility-at-oman-ama/story-fnihsrf2-1227616109317
Inglewood residents tell govt – “No nuclear waste dump here”
Residents tell officials they don’t want nuclear waste, ABC Radio PM Annie Guest reported this story on Wednesday, November 18, 2015 DAVID MARK: Residents of the southern Queensland town of Inglewood have told Government officials they don’t want Australia’s first permanent nuclear waste facility in their community.Most residents say they were worried about safety risks and property values declining, but one woman said the waste from the nuclear medicine that saved her husband’s life must be stored somewhere.
Annie Guest reports from Inglewood…….http://www.abc.net.au/pm/content/2015/s4354831.htm
Public meeting in Oman Ama vents opposition to nuclear waste site proposal
Southern Queensland community Oman Ama vents fears over potential nuclear waste site, ABC News, 18 Nov 15 Residents of a Queensland southern border community earmarked for a nuclear waste dump have gathered for a public meeting to voice concerns about the proposal.
Oman Ama, near Inglewood, is one of six sites shortlisted to host the country’s first permanent nuclear waste dump.
It comes with a $10 million sweetener but that is not enough to convince many local residents of the small rural community……The Federal Government wants one site in Australia and is due to make a decision by the end of 2016, with the site operating by 2018, or 2020 at the latest.
Government experts are trying to allay their fears with claims the dump will not be built anywhere if there is an environmental risk.
Oman Ama locals mainly asked about the risk if the waste escapes, how long it took to break down, what happens in a flood and how can they be sure it is safe.
Some yelled out their opposition, which drew claps from the audience.
Gavan Lahey said he was concerned the local catchment would be polluted……..http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-11-18/oman-ama-vents-fears-over-potential-nuclear-waste-site/6952492
Bathurst residents rally to protect Sallys Flat from nuclear waste
Residents rally to protect Sallys Flat from nuclear waste http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-11-18/sallys-meeting/6950152 Residents in a Bathurst district village are rallying to fight Federal Government plans to store nuclear waste on a local property. Dozens of people have attended a public meeting at Hill End yesterday to discuss the proposal to house the material at nearby Sallys Flat.
Local resident Ross Brown says more than two-thirds of the community attended and all were opposed to the waste being dumped in the area. He said they were getting advice from environmental groups and federal MPs on how to stop Sallys Flat being selected by the government.
“It’s not a place where we want it to be, at Hill End or Sallys Flat,” Mr Brown said.”We want to know how best to object to it being at Sallys Flat or Hill End.
“Most people see that if the facility is here it will devalue their land. “They’re not really happy with the process of how it was selected.”
A committee is being set up as part of the community’s efforts to stop Sallys Flat being chosen.Mr Brown said locals would do everything they could to protect the area. “They’ve all offered methods in counteracting this proposal and show that the local community are (sic) entirely against it.”
Central West New South Wales wants consultation on nuclear waste dump plans
Calls for central west to consulted over nuclear waste plans http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-11-16/sallys-reax/6943130?section=nsw A Bathurst environment group says a number of central west communities could be put at risk from plans to store nuclear waste in a local village.
The Federal Government has shortlisted six sites including Sallys Flat near Hill End, to house the material that is used in medical procedures and is currently stored at Lucas Heights in Sydney and in hospitals.
The Bathurst Climate Action Network says the impact of the local community and capacity of the road network need to be carefully considered before any decision is made.The president Tracey Carpenter said there were several questions that needed to be answered.
“Apart from the residents, Hill End being a national park, and the thriving community and a tourism attraction and the stigma that would come from being a nuclear waste dump, it needs to transported along our roads, through our centres,” Ms Carpenter said.
“That’s putting all our communities at risk.”
Bev Smiles from the Mudgee District Environment Group said it was not just people around Sallys Flat and the Bathurst district who would be concerned.
“Road accidents with nuclear waste are a highly relevant concern for people and the idea of having nuclear waste buried in your backyard, is something that I think people in a large area of the central west would not be comfortable with,” Ms Smiles said.
Ms Carpenter said it remained to be seen whether the local state MP Paul Toole supported his federal counterparts.“Politically it’s a really interesting issue because the local member Paul Toole opposed wind farms in our region on the grounds that it was divisive to the community,” she said.
“This would certainly be the ultimate division for a community.”
The ABC has contacted Mr Toole for a response.
Danger in transporting radioactive trash to Queensland
Goondiwindi mayor raises issues over transport of nuclear waste to Queensland, ABC News 13 Nov 15 The Mayor of a southern Queensland region shortlisted to store nuclear waste is concerned about how it will be transported, but is keeping an open mind to the proposal.
Oman Ama, 250 kilometres southwest of Brisbane,is one of six sites earmarked by the Federal Government, including three in South Australia, one in New South Wales and one in the Northern Territory. Goondiwindi Mayor Graeme Scheu said he did not want to jump to conclusions.
“The main question around it would be transportation, where it goes, so, so many questions that we don’t even have an answer for and the facts,” he said……..
The Federal Government is offering sweeteners to the community that agrees to house nuclear waste…..
Transporting waste to Queensland ‘total lunacy’
National secretary of the Australian local government nuclear free zones secretariat, Ipswich councillor Paul Tully, said “total lunacy” had overtaken the Federal Government.
Mr Tully said the federal Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg will put major cities across southeast Queensland under threat with hundreds of trucks a year carrying nuclear waste across the region.”They will be transporting nuclear waste from the Lucas Heights reactor west of Sydney and other parts of Australia to Queensland,” he said.
“We don’t want Queensland to become the dumping ground for dangerous waste from NSW.”
He said similar plans in 1989 for a radioactive waste dump at Redbank in Ipswich had been thwarted after major environmental concerns were raised.
Kirsten Macey from the Queensland Conservation Council said regional communities should not be used as the scapegoat for a “dirty” nuclear industry. She wants the waste left in Sydney.
“We believe that where the regulator is – where they have the capacity to store it and monitor it, that’s where the nuclear waste should be stored,” she said. “That’s at Lucas Heights where the nuclear waste is being generated.”http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-11-13/mayor-goondiwindi-transport-nuclear-waste-queensland/6937570
Darling Downs, Queensland, residents shocked at proposal to site nuclear waste there
Darling Downs locals opposed to potential Oman Ama nuclear storage site, 9 News, 13 Nov 15, A property near the Darling Downs town of Oman Ama has been shortlisted by the Federal Government as a potential storage site for low-to-intermediate nuclear waste, but locals have told 9NEWS they are seriously concerned by the plan.“Initally, horror, shock, how could they?” Liff Parr said. “I would hate to find something like that happening in our area,” Jo Clark said.
Locals had not received any notice of the plans, Andrew Clark-Dickson said. “Up until seven o’clock this morning I knew nothing about it,” he said. “It’s got to be put somewhere, but I really don’t think it should be on top of the Murray-Darling Basin.”
Organic olive farmer Gesine Owen echoed his concerns. My biggest fear is the water contamination,” she said. Ms Owen said she had spent many years investing in infrastructure to attract tourists to the town.“We just don’t see why we should be picked,” she said.
The residents realise one landowner has volunteered to sell their property for the purpose of establishing a nuclear waste site, with the government offering to pay four times market value for the selected site………
The Australian Nuclear Free Alliance said Australian Aboriginal communities “are reeling from this announcement”.
“We are concerned about the lack of consultation with Aboriginal communities, which are already under attack due to unconventional gas mining, coal proposals and the roll-back of Aboriginal heritage protections,” Alliance co-chair Adam Sharah said in a statement. http://www.9news.com.au/national/2015/11/13/19/51/darling-downs-locals-opposed-to-potential-oman-ama-nuclear-storage-site#fg1Io11Df1AmGg61.9
Camp Concern: protestors recall and reactivate anti nuclear campaign in Kakadu
“The mining company that has benefited and profited from the use of this area and the mining lease now needs to move towards a comprehensive clean-up.
“We’re still not completely aware of contamination problems that need to be rehabilitated.
“What’s promising is the protest from Aboriginal communities against the mining is as strong as ever. There’s a lesson [from Camp Concern] in partnerships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous activists sharing information together.”
Camp Concern: Activists reunite for anti-uranium mining protest 40 years later inside Kakadu 105.7 ABC Darwin By Emilia Terzon and Lisa Pellegrino , 27 Oct 15 As uranium mining near Kakadu faces an uncertain future, activists calling themselves Camp Concern have reunited inside the Northern Territory park to mark 40 years on from the launch of an anti-mining protest. Continue reading
Walkatjurra Walkabout completes 5th walk against uranium mining in West Australia
http://walkingforcountry.com/2015/09/17/41888/ 16 Sep 15: “The Walkatjurra Walkabout, which started in 2011, finished its 5th walk in the North Eastern Goldfields town of Leonora on Tuesday. The walk, a collaboration of Aboriginal and non-indigenous people, is a moving community protest against the proposed uranium mines in the region.
The month long walk, lead by local Traditional Owners, covered almost 450 km’s from Wiluna to Leonora, passing Toro Energy’s Wiluna uranium mine proposal at Lake Way and Cameco’s proposed uranium mine at Yeelirrie Station. Walk participants included local Traditional Owners, people
from Australia, Japan, Taiwan, England, Sweden, Aotearoa (New Zealand), America and France.
The walks continue to attract people interested in learning about Aboriginal culture, caring for country and to share a united vision for a nuclear free world.
The walk was also joined at Yeelirrie for two days by Federal Greens senators Rachel Siewert and Co-Deputy Greens leader Scott Ludlam along with state Greens MLC Robin Chapple.
The visit included a tour of Toro Energy’s uranium project at Lake Way near Wiluna with walkers and Toro Energy. Many of the participants have first hand experience of the
dangers of the nuclear industry, especially those from Japan and Taiwan, whose nuclear industry are fuelled by Australian uranium. … “
Video: Walkajurra Walkabout protest Toro uranium mining project
Walkajurra Walkabout begins fifth protest of Toro uranium mining project Anti-nuclear protesters have come together for the fifth consecutive Walkajurra Walkabout to oppose energy company’s Toro Energy uranium mining project.By Craig Quartermaine Yellarie Source: NITV News 31 AUG 2015
TRANSCRIPT Malarndirri McCarthy: The Walkajurra Walkabout has international anti-nuclear protesters and traditional owners gathered together on some of the richest uranium deposits in the country.
Craig Quartermaine: I’m here at Yellerie Station for the Walkajurra Walkabout that will continue for the next two weeks it’s a dynamic mix of people who make their way through country
After protesters set up camp, they had a breakdown of the meeting with Toro Energy before turning in for the night……
Kado Muir is the Tjurrura man who has lead the event for the last five years .
Kado Muir, Walkajurra Walkabout organiser: So if they ever got the approval to mine it, it would dig up a 50 kilometre area, taking uranium out of the ground, turning it over, extracting the ore, leaving radioactive materials behind, all this beautiful land will end up being a radioactive wasteland……..Basically all these people share this common goal with us the Aboriginal people of this land of keeping uranium in the ground and shutting down the nuclear industry.
South Australian govt warned by atomic test veteran not to expand nuclear industry
Maralinga British atomic test veteran warns State Government against nuclear expansion in SA, ABC News By Mike Sexton, 22 Aug 15 A veteran of the British atomic tests at Maralinga has warned the South Australian Government against flirting with a nuclear fuel cycle.
Avon Hudson served with the RAAF at Maralinga during the so-called minor trials when radioactive material including plutonium was atomised and, in the process, spread across the sandy desert country.
“It is alright when everything goes okay, but we know they don’t,” he said.
“If we get more and more nuclear power stations then the law of averages is we will see more accidents.” In the 1970s Mr Hudson became a whistleblower by going public with what he knew of the secret trials.
He also became an advocate for the servicemen who had been exposed to radiation during weapons testing in the 1950s and 60s.
He said the men were given little or no protection against the harmful exposure.
“I was handed over like a pick and shovel would be handed over for someone to do a job,” he said.
“[There were] no safeguards, no nothing.”
Mr Hudson estimated of the 8,000 Australian servicemen at Maralinga fewer than 500 remained alive today.
Now in his late seventies he is retired and living in the South Australian town of Balaklava, but continues to agitate against the use of nuclear energy and weapons……..Mr Hudson believed the dangers posed by nuclear energy outweighed the advantages, including the possibility of nuclear fuel being used to manufacture weapons……http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-08-20/veteran-warns-sa-government-against-nuclear-expansion/6711642
Aboriginal elder Kevin Buzzacott speaks at strong anti nuclear protest in Adelaide
Nuclear dump would destroy our land: elder http://www.9news.com.au/national/2015/07/09/15/23/elders-students-protest-sa-nuclear-dump Aboriginal elders from across the country have joined scores of university students camping out in a stand against the storing of nuclear waste in Australia.
Protesters from far and wide have set up a tent community at Flinders University in Adelaide in protest against plans for a nuclear waste dump, in South Australia or anywhere else.
“To the South Australian government, to the federal government, to the mining giants – don’t worry about trying to put the waste dump here,” Arabunna elder Kevin Buzzacott said on Thursday.
It also coincides with South Australia’s royal commission into nuclear power, which is looking at whether the state should expand its involvement in the nuclear industry.
At least one SA Liberal senator says it should, with Sean Edwards recently urging the state to cash in by becoming a global player in the spent nuclear fuel recycling industry.
But Mr Buzzacott said a storage facility would destroy the sacred land of the country’s traditional owners. “We’ve lost a lot of sacred sites as it is,” he said. “We don’t want to lose any more. “We’ve been here 40,000 years. We’ve never touched the land – we love the land.”
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