Antinuclear

Australian news, and some related international items

BHP Billiton’s Olympic Dam will cause greenhouse emissions to soar

Flag_Australiaglobe-warmingMining growth a greenhouse gas threat
– Adelaide Now 29 July 09

July 29, 2009

SOUTH Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions will skyrocket with the expansion of the Olympic Dam copper and uranium mine if the power comes from non-renewable sources.

The Australian Conservation Foundation says the State Government must make the expansion conditional on the use of renewable energy.

“This BHP mining plan is equivalent to putting more than one million inefficient polluting cars on to the roads and keeping them there for decades to come,” said ACF climate change program manager Tony Mohr.

A spokesman for Premier Mike Rann said the greenhouse gas emissions were “a key issue for consideration” and that the Government would ask BHP Billiton to demonstrate how it would comply with relevant legislation.

AdelaideNow… Mining growth a greenhouse gas threat –

July 29, 2009 Posted by | climate change - global warming, South Australia, uranium | , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Australia’s threatened water resources, and the uranium mining risk

water-drops (for more Australian news, go to

What impact is uranium mining having on our water?

The Advertiser, by Jim Green, 25 july 09

ENVIRONMENT Minister Peter Garrett buttressed his decision last week to approve in situ leach (ISL) uranium mining at Beverley Four Mile with the claim that he is “certain this operation poses no credible risk to the environment”.

Thus Mr Garrett adds another chapter to the history of spin surrounding ISL mining.

Environmental debates typically revolve around differing assessments of the possibility of environmental contamination.

But with ISL mining, environmental pollution – specifically contamination of groundwater with radionuclides, heavy metals and acid – is a certainty.

ISL mining involves pumping an acidic solution into an aquifer, dissolving the uranium ore and other heavy metals and pumping the solution back to the surface.

After the uranium has been separated, liquid radioactive waste is simply dumped in the aquifer. Isolation and containment of the pollutants would not be difficult or expensive, but the mining companies will take the cheaper option of polluting groundwater for as long as the politicians let them……………………

A 2003 Senate References and Legislation Committee report recommended banning the discharge of radioactive liquid mine waste to groundwater. ISL uranium mining is used at the Beverley uranium mine and it is the mining method proposed for Beverley Four Mile, Oban and Honeymoon.

The future of this mining technique is plain to see: short-lived mines leaving SA with a legacy of polluted aquifers.

Spills and leaks are common at ISL mines. The SA Department of Primary Industry and Resources lists 59 spills at Beverley from 1998 to 2007.

Serious questions must be raised as to BHP Billiton’s capacity to safely manage radioactive tailings at Olympic Dam if, as planned, tailings production increases sevenfold to 68 million tonnes annually and water consumption increases to more than 250 million litres daily.

BHP Billiton pays nothing for its massive water take for the Olympic Dam mine, despite recording a $17.7 billion profit in 2007-8. That arrangement is enshrined in the Roxby Downs Indenture Act 1982………

……… The Indenture Act provides a raft of exemptions and overrides from the SA Natural Resources Act 2004, the Environment Protection Act 1993, the Aboriginal Heritage Act 1988 and even the Freedom of Information Act 1991.

BHP Billiton and the Rann Government are currently engaged in secret discussions over the future of the Indenture Act.

July 25, 2009 Posted by | AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, environment, uranium | , , , , | 1 Comment

Fairfax News has conflict of interest in reporting on nuclear power

Flag_AustraliaWhy is Fairfax Promoting nuclear power?
Becruz by Robert Vose 25 July 09

The Chairman of the Board for Fairfax Media Limited is Mr Ron Walker. Ron Walker was also one of the three owners of a company that aimed to build Australia’s first nuclear power station:

Herald Sun Michael Harvey February 28, 2007

JOHN Howard has admitted he had known of a private bid by a Liberal powerbroker to build Australia’s first nuclear power station since the middle of last year.

Mr Howard received a phone call from businessman Ron Walker about the time the Federal Government established its expert investigation into the viability of nuclear power.

Mr Walker told the Prime Minister he was registering a private company interested in nuclear power…

The Herald Sun revealed yesterday that Mr Walker joined forces with fellow business chiefs Hugh Morgan and Robert Champion de Crespigny to establish a private company called Australian Nuclear Energy Pty Ltd.

If Fairfax newspapers such as The Age and the Sydney Morning Herald are starting up a campaign to subtly promote nuclear power – through these pretend allegorical stories of the last couple of days – THEY NEED TO DECLARE A POSSIBLE CONFLICT OF INTEREST!!!!

These nuclear power puff pieces do not constitute rational debate. They do not look at the options for energy systems that could replace coal power stations. The writing style even suggests that the authors are embarrassed to have to present these kinds of positions in their writing.

……………………….If editors and the board are pushing the nuclear power wheelburrow they need to declare their interests in nuclear power.

Becrux » Blog Archive » Why is Fairfax Promoting nuclear power?

July 25, 2009 Posted by | AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, spinbuster, uranium | , , , , | Leave a comment

Australia: Aboriginal voices raise uranium concerns

A predominantly Aboriginal national anti-nuclear group has raised serious concerns over the impacts of uranium mining and nuclear activities on Aboriginal country ahead of the opening of a uranium industry conference in Fremantle today.
“Aboriginal people have long endured the impacts of uranium mining, nuclear testing and radioactive waste dumping proposals in Australia,” said ANFA co-chair Donna Jackson.
“We continue to lead the resistance to further uranium mining in Australia, Traditional Owners (TOs) should not be bullied or intimidated into signing agreements”.
The Australian Nuclear Free Alliance (ANFA) – formerly known as the Alliance Against Uranium (AAU) – was formed in 1997 and brings together Aboriginal people and health and environment NGOs concerned with the rapid expansion of existing or proposed uranium mining in Australia, particularly on Aboriginal homelands.
“ANFA is requesting an Inquiry or Royal Commission into Uranium mining and it’s impacts on people and country. This is not a black and white issue, this toxic industry threatens our clean air and clean water for tens of thousands of years, yet we are asked to believe the hollow assurances about safeguards from Governments and industry executives that may not be in power next week, let alone years from now”.

“It is vital that the full story be told and the full range of risks and impacts be understood by TOs.  Radioactive pollution can travel vast distances via air and water, and remain radioactive in the environment for thousands of years”.
Donna Jackson is available for comment on 0427 847 186.

ANFA – protecting country, supporting communities – www.anfa.org.au

July 25, 2009 Posted by | aboriginal issues, AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, uranium | , , , , , | Leave a comment

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