Antinuclear

Australian news, and some related international items

Controversial legislation for Kimba nuclear waste dump is tabled in Federal parliament

Nuclear legislation on the table, Whyalla News, Louis Mayfield  14 Feb 20  The federal government’s goal of establishing a National Radioactive Waste Management Facility (NRWMF) at Napandee, Kimba is a step closer after key legislation was tabled in the Parliament on Thursday.

The controversial National Radioactive Waste Management Amendment (Site Specification, Community Fund and Other Measures) Bill 2020 will be subject to much scrutiny from the Senate crossbench and other stakeholders.

Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young has already flagged that her party will move to block the legislation, claiming that government does not have broad community support.

“It is wrong to say there is broad community support. Traditional Owners have rejected the proposal. Once again the Morrison Government and Minister Canavan haven’t listened,” she said.

Centre Alliance Senator Rex Patrick has previously stated that his party would refer the legislation to a Senate Committee ‘where the decision made by the Government can be thoroughly scrutinised’.

“Whilst the decision by 62% of the community to back the facility being built must be respected, so too must the views of those who were under the impression that the facility would not go ahead without ‘broad community support’,” he said.

The bill will also allow the government to establish a $20 million Community Fund for Kimba, promising to support long-term infrastructure and development priorities for the town……. https://www.whyallanewsonline.com.au/story/6629280/nuclear-legislation-on-the-table/?fbclid=IwAR0Q46EnPyGMac0c6shR7o_dhPh5BQBhWwkN1FuCaq6zwJi_6lfc2qjS0SA

February 15, 2020 Posted by | AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, Federal nuclear waste dump | Leave a comment

Shrinking Antarctic ice shelf Pine Island Glacier sheds giant iceberg

Shrinking Antarctic ice shelf Pine Island Glacier sheds giant iceberg, ABC News, Digital Story Innovation Team  By Mark Doman 14 Feb 20,  In one of the fastest-changing areas of the Antarctic ice sheet, satellites have captured the formation of a giant, 300-square-kilometre iceberg.

Researchers monitoring satellite imagery of the Pine Island Glacier (PIG), in west Antarctica, first noticed two large rifts forming in the shelf in 2019.

Over the next few months, as the glacier moved out towards the Amundsen Sea, the rifts expanded, eventually leading to the splitting of the iceberg from the glacier on February 9.

Within a day, the iceberg had broken up into smaller pieces.

Only one of the pieces was large enough to be named (B-49) and tracked by the United States National Ice Centre.

It comes just days after a station on the Antarctic Peninsula logged its hottest day on record, registering a temperature of 18.3 degrees Celsius.

The peninsula, which juts out to the north-east of the Pine Island Glacier, is among the fastest-warming regions on the planet. Temperatures there have increased almost 3C over the last 50 years, according to the World Meteorological Organisation.

Last month, scientists also recorded unusually warm water beneath the Thwaites Glacier, a neighbour to Pine Island.

While the calving of icebergs from shelves such as the Pine Island Glacier is a natural process in the life of a giant glacier, the rate at which this glacier and others in the region have been disintegrating is a cause of concern for scientists.

Previously the ice shelf calved once a decade. By the early 2000s, it started calving once every five years. But since 2013, the glacier has calved five times, according to Stef Lhermitte, a remote sensing scientist from the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands……. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-02-13/antarctic-ice-shelf-pine-island-glacier-sheds-giant-iceberg/11957770

February 15, 2020 Posted by | politics | Leave a comment

Yearly climate costs $29bn for Australia with ‘business as usual’

Australia faces annual $29bn climate bill   The Saturday Paper, Max Opray    15 Feb 20, A “business as usual” response to climate change will cost Australia at least $29 billion a year, according to a new study. The World Wide Fund for Nature report projected that Australia’s economy will be the fifth worst-affected over the next three decades. This was a best-case scenario, and did not factor in the cost of more intense bushfires. “Because so much of Australia’s population, infrastructure and service sector output is concentrated in coastal areas, we are more vulnerable than most to sea-level rise and storm surges,” said WWF-Australia economist Joshua Bishop. The modelling shows that the global price of some key commodities will rise by almost 10 per cent. The report noted that environmentally friendly land-use management techniques alone could halve the hit to national GDP. The news comes as an Australian Conservation Foundation analysis found that the fossil-fuel industry has doubled its donations to the major parties in the past four years.  ….  https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/thebriefing/max-opray/2020/02/13/australia-faces-annual-29bn-climate-bill?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=The%20Briefing%20-%20Thursday%2013%20February%202020&utm_content=The%20Briefing%20-%20Thursday%2013%20February%202020+CID_a8e00424e41f86960e9b9

February 15, 2020 Posted by | AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, climate change - global warming | Leave a comment

Australia’s Mawson research station monitors radionuclides in the atmosphere

February 15, 2020 Posted by | AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, weapons and war | Leave a comment

Risk that Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act could be changed to promote nuclear power

K-A Garlick at Nuclear Free WA, 12 Feb 20

The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act is currently under review and will look at how the Act has been operating, and any changes needed for Australia to support ecologically sustainable development into the future.

Currently, under the EPBC Act, nuclear power is banned and the ‘nuclear action’ triggers uranium mining and milling projects to be Federally assessed. This should remain.

There is a real threat that the EPBC Act could change to remove the ban on nuclear power and the ‘nuclear actions’ trigger, so that this dirty industry can push forward.  We urge you and your organisation to make a submission to keep the ban on nuclear power and the ‘nuclear action’ triggers.

Don’t nuke the climate is a great new website with a ton of information to use for your submission including last years no nuclear power statement by a broad coalition of faith, union, environmental, Aboriginal and public health groups, representing millions of Australians, that clearly outlines our energy future is renewable, not radioactive. Click here to read the statement.

Submissions are due 17 April 2020. You can send submissions via email to epbcreview@environment.gov.au Or via post to: EPBC Act Review Secretariat Department of the Environment and Energy GPO Box 787 CANBERRA ACT 2601.  Please complete and submit this cover page with your submission. All submissions that include this cover sheet will be considered by the review.  For more information on the EPBC Act and submissions, click here.

February 13, 2020 Posted by | AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, environment, politics | Leave a comment

Whyalla is targeted for nuclear waste shipments and should have a right to refuse untenable plans.

Whyalla is targeted for nuclear waste shipments and should have a right to refuse untenable plans.

Napandee Nuclear Store site nomination also targets Whyalla Port: Nuclear Brief (Feb 2020) by David Noonan, Independent Environment Campaigner

Amidst rising controversy, a Federal Minister has nominated Napandee near Kimba on Eyre Peninsula as a Nuclear Store to take reactor fuel wastes and long-lived wastes from Lucas Heights.

The “Site Characterisation Technical Report: Napandee” (DIIS, July 2018, Proximity to ports p.150) named Whyalla Port to take shipments of nuclear fuel wastes, in the event Napandee is named as a Nuclear Store. Two shipments of reprocessed nuclear fuel wastes, in 130 tonne TN-81 casks, are intended within the first two years of operations of a Nuclear Waste Store at Napandee (p.152).

Some 100 x B-double 50 tonne loads of Intermediate Level Wastes (ILW) are also intended in the first four years of Nuclear Store operations at Napandee (p.152). The Report (p.157-158) states:

It may be possible to have these containers shipped from Port Kembla to ports such as Whyalla”

However, the Federal government has conspicuously failed to consult the SA community on plans to impose multiple shipments of nuclear waste across SA, including potentially through Whyalla Port.

This flawed practice is in continued breach of advice of the Nuclear Safety Committee (NSC) to the nuclear regulator ARPANSA (Nov 2016) on the NRWMF, on transparency in decisions, stating:

The ongoing requirement to clearly and effectively engage all stakeholders, including those along transport routes.” With the NSC stating that: “Such engagement is essential…

” Eyre Peninsula, Whyalla and transport route communities have so far been denied a say on these Federal nuclear waste plans and now face potential serious reputational risks and material impacts.”

The Australian Radioactive Waste Management Framework (DIIS, April 2018, p.4) reports total Intermediate Level Wastes at 1,770 m3 – with 95% (by volume) arising as Federal government wastes.

  The Federal gov. plans to more than double Intermediate Level Wastes to produce a further 1,960 m3 over next 40 years, with 1,850 m3 (95%) of that arising from ANSTO Lucas Heights operations.

 All these nuclear wastes are intended to go to Napandee for up to 100 years above ground storage. 

Proposed indefinite above ground storage of nuclear fuel wastes at Napandee may compromise safety and security in SA and contravenes Nuclear Safety Committee advice. The NSC has stated dual handling in transport associated with interim storage “does not represent international best practice” and raises “implications for security”. These federal nuclear plans are also illegal in SA.  

The previous SA State Liberal government prohibited the import, transport, storage and disposal of nuclear fuel wastes and reprocessed wastes under the Nuclear Waste Storage (Prohibition) Act 2000.

“The Objects of this Act are to protect the health, safety and welfare of the people of South Australia and to protect the environment in which they live by prohibiting the establishment of certain nuclear waste storage facilities in this State.”

ARPANSA states these nuclear wastes require isolation from the environment for 10 000 years.

Nuclear waste can pose serious Safety, Accident and Security Risks:

“In the event of a major nuclear accident, adverse impacts on the tourism, agriculture and property sectors could potentially be profound.”

SA Nuclear Royal Commission: Tentative Findings, Risks and Challenges, Impacts on other Sectors (Feb 2016, p.28)

Key questions on safety and security in nuclear fuel waste transport and storage remain unanswered (see D Noonan submission to Minister Canavan, p.11-12). These wastes must not be allowed into SA.

The UK Nuclear Free Local Authorities “Briefing: Nuclear security concerns – how secure is the UK civil nuclear sector?”

(NFLA, May 2016) highlights key security threats including the risks from potential malicious attack on a nuclear waste transport or on a nuclear waste storage site. NFLA (p.8) cites the views of nuclear engineer Dr John Large on safety as at the heart of its concerns:

“Movement of nuclear materials is inherently risky both in terms of severe accident and terrorist attack. Not all accident scenarios and accident severities can be foreseen; it is only possible to maintain a limited security cordon around the flask and its consignment; … terrorists are able to seek out and exploit vulnerabilities in the transport arrangements and localities on the route; and emergency planning is difficult to maintain over the entire route.”

NFLA Recommendations (p.15) call for real discussion on the aftermath of a nuclear security incident given the major emergency response issues that arise. That belated debate is yet to be heard in SA.

SA is arguable unprepared for the consequences of nuclear fuel waste accidents or security events. Hundreds of Police were required for security at a 2018 nuclear waste shipment out of Port Kembla.

Whyalla is targeted for nuclear waste shipments and should have a right to refuse untenable plans.

In “Nuclear port potential” (Whyalla News, 3 rd August 2018, p.1) the Mayor said Federal gov. plans to use Whyalla’s port for nuclear waste: “would require significant community consultation”, noting:

“In the past Whyalla has opposed any nuclear or radioactive shipping in this region”.

DIIS’s Napandee Site Characterisation Report refers to potential “occurrences of complete shutdown” (p.154) in Iron Triangle Cities during nuclear waste shipments. This is unacceptable.

These are fundamentally State issues and the SA public have not given consent to proposed nuclear waste transport and storage. Under the leadership of Premier Steven Marshall the SA State Liberal government has a responsibility to protect the public interest and to uphold the law in our State.

The Marshall gov. must protect all SA regional communities and reject a Nuclear Waste Store in SA. For further Information, see: https://nuclear.foe.org.au/waste

February 13, 2020 Posted by | Federal nuclear waste dump, politics, South Australia | Leave a comment

Senate opens the door for nuclear developments

Senate opens the door for nuclear developments: From ENuFF[SA]

https://www.facebook.com/sanuclearfree/13 Feb 20

February 11 2020
Senator HANSON-YOUNG (South Australia) (16:12): I move:
That the Senate:

(a) affirms its commitment to a complete moratorium on nuclear energy, as expressed in the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Act 1998 and the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999;

(b) notes the devastating and lasting impacts of the nuclear disasters in Fukushima, Chernobyl and Three Mile Island; and

(c) call on all Ministers to commit to Australia being a nuclear-free zone.

========================
DIVISION:NOES 35 (6 majority) AYES 29 PAIRS 6

Question negatived.
========================

Rex Patrick voted No
P Wong paired

https://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/search/display/display.w3p;query=Id%3A“chamber%2Fhansards%2Fc220a265-e5aa-42c9-8cd9-19390fabb066%2F0127”

February 12, 2020 Posted by | AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, politics | Leave a comment

#ScottyFromMarketing ‘s bushfire inquiry studiously ‘ignores’ carbon emissions

February 12, 2020 Posted by | ACT, climate change - global warming, politics | 1 Comment

MPs Andrew Wilkie and George Christensen to UK to help free Julian Assange

MPs take Assange freedom campaign to UK 

https://www.news.com.au/national/breaking-news/mps-take-assange-freedom-campaign-to-uk/news-story/633a9baa272bd155623423565e86e6b4 12 Feb 20, 
Tasmanian independent MP Andrew Wilkie and Queensland Nationals MP George Christensen will travel to the United Kingdom to lobby for Julian Assange’s freedom
Paul Osborne, Two Australian politicians will travel to the UK this weekend at their own expense to visit Julian Assange in jail and seek his release.

Tasmanian independent MP Andrew Wilkie and Queensland Nationals MP George Christensen, who chair a parliamentary group in support of the WikiLeaks founder, will pay a visit to Belmarsh Prison near London and lobby the British government.

Assange is set to face trial on February 24 to determine whether he should be extradited to the US, where he has been charged with 17 counts of spying and one count of conspiracy to commit computer intrusion.

February 12, 2020 Posted by | AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, civil liberties, politics international | Leave a comment

New Resources Minister Keith Pitt ignores renewables, pushes for more coal, gas and uranium exports

February 12, 2020 Posted by | AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, climate change - global warming, politics | Leave a comment

South Australia’s renewable energy future hampered by lack of electricity infrastructure

South Australia’s renewable energy future hampered by lack of electricity infrastructure https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-02-11/sa-renewables-future-hampered-lack-of-instructure/11935392

By Emma Pedler and Lucy Robinson   South Australia’s drive to be the national leader in renewable energy is being hampered by infrastructure unable to support the future growth potential, according to economist Ross Garnaut.

Key points:

  • A lack of infrastructure is undermining SA’s goal to lead the nation in renewable energy, experts say
  • A windfarm that was approved almost 20 years ago was never developed because of a lack of support for large-scale operations
  • State officials say a proactive approach to infrastructure would attract businesses and create jobs

Dr Garnaut highlighted the Eyre Peninsula and Spencer Gulf as two of the regions most likely to be able to both create renewable energy and house the industries that want to use it.

But he said the region would not be able to capitalise on opportunities without high voltage transmission infrastructure similar to the interconnector recently approved to link SA and New South Wales.

“We need lots more of that kind of infrastructure … so that we can bring together at single points a range of high quality wind and high quality solar, so that we can balance the requirements of different parts of the region,” he said Continue reading

February 12, 2020 Posted by | energy, South Australia | 1 Comment

Zali Steggall’s climate Bill, Labor’s befuddlement on coal

February 12, 2020 Posted by | AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, climate change - global warming, politics | Leave a comment

#ScottyFromMarketing and his crew – blind to the economics of renewable energy

Sydney Morning Herald 10th Feb 2020, One of the greatest frustrations as a scientist is to see interpretations of data misrepresented by politicians. Unfortunately in Australia, much of this bluster has come from the far-right side of conservatives, part of our broad church, whose members have traditionally prided themselves on prudence and level-headedness.
I am a solar photovoltaic scientist and engineer of more than 20 years’ experience and a director of Coalition for Conservation, a movement of grassroots conservative Coalition members who support greater action on climate change, and I have heard it all: from John Howard’s comments that “solar and wind can only be useful on themargins” to Tony Abbott’s description of wind turbines as “dark satanic mills”.
Sadly, last Friday, Scott Morrison and Michael McCormack
were at it again, warning that increased climate action would lead to
“higher taxes and higher electricity prices” and implying it was the
desire only of “those in the inner city”. Of course, this is nothing
more than marketing fluff. You could be forgiven for thinking that they
must have missed the memo on the record take-up of ultra-cheap solar and
wind power, now generating nearly 20 per cent of Australia’s electricity
supply, with more than 50 per cent renewables expected by 2030.

https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/coalition-wilfully-blind-to-economics-of-renewables-20200209-p53z4m.html

February 12, 2020 Posted by | AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, energy, politics | Leave a comment

Philip White shows folly of nuclear activities for Victoria: Submission No.112

Submission 112 Philip White to Victorian govt INQUIRY INTO NUCLEAR PROHIBITION

A very brief summary of conclusions that can be drawn from the attached submission with respect

to each of your  inquiry’s terms of reference are as follows:

(1)investigate the potential for Victoria to contribute to global low carbon  dioxide energy production through enabling exploration and production of uranium and thorium The notion that nuclear energy is low carbon is superficial. A deeper analysis shows that nuclear energy is an obstacle to realisation of a low carbon economy (refer “c. environmental

impacts” in the attached submission).  Hence the idea that uranium and thorium exploration and production could make a useful contribution to global low  carbon

dioxide energy production is mistaken.  

(2) identify economic, environmental and social benefits for Victoria, including those related to medicine, scientific research, exploration and mining.

Nuclear energy related facilities tend to create host communities which are economically dependent

on these  facilities and which are therefore under huge pressure to overlook the safety and environmental risks associated  with these facilities (refer “b. health and safety” in the attached submission). The safest approach is not to build  these facilities in the first place.  (I assume the phrase “including those related to medicine, scientific research, exploration and mining” is not meant to exclude nuclear power plants and other aspects of the  nuclear fuel cycle.)  It is doubtful whether exploration and mining could generate significant 

economic benefits given that the long‐term  prospects for nuclear energy are so uncertain. Refer

The World Nuclear Industry Status Report 2019:  https://www.worldnuclearreport.org/WNISR2019Assesses‐Climate‐Changeand‐the‐Nuclear‐Power‐Option.html  

(3) identify opportunities for Victoria to participate in the nuclear fuel cycle The attached submission provides many reasons why it would be unwise for

Victoria to participate in the nuclear  fuel cycle.

(4) identify any barriers to participation, including limitations caused by federal or local laws

 and regulations. 

There are many legitimate barriers to nuclear fuel cycle activities, including safety, environmental protection, non‐ proliferation concerns and lack of public acceptance, but ultimately the barrier that is most likely to

stick is that  nuclear energy is not economically viable (refer “d. energy affordability and reliability and  economic feasibility” in  the attached submission- below).

Submission to the Inquiry into the Prerequisites for Nuclear Energy in Australia …….

For reasons outlined below, nuclear energy is not and will not in the foreseeable future be a desirable option to supply Australia’s energy needs. The specific terms of reference are addressed below, with particular attention to issues and perspectives that proponents of nuclear energy are inclined to neglect or downplay:

a. waste management, transport and storage ………

b. health and safety ……

c. environmental impacts …….

d. energy affordability and reliability, and e. economic feasibility …….

f. community engagement and i. national consensus ……..

g. workforce capability …….

h. security implications ……

j. any other relevant matter

Based on the above analysis, it would be unwise for Australia to embark on a nuclear energy program and it is very sensible to declare this in the clearest possible terms. In this regard, I am encouraged to see in the Terms of Reference for this inquiry the statement that “Australia’s bipartisan moratorium on nuclear energy will remain in place.” https://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/epc-lc/article/4348

    

February 11, 2020 Posted by | politics, Victoria | Leave a comment

Fires and floods: Australia already seesaws between climate extremes – and there’s more to come

February 11, 2020 Posted by | AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, climate change - global warming | Leave a comment