Radioactive Waste

Mine waste:

Open cut and underground uranium mines dig up large amounts of rock (ore) the ore is crushed and waste rock is removed. The uranium is milled and the waste chemicals and rock is put in a dam known as a tailings dam. The waste rock and tailings contain approximately 80% of the radioactivity of the original ore.

Producing 1 tonne of uranium oxide generates approximately 2,400 tonnes of radioactive waste and releases 27 tonnes of greenhouse gas’ emissions.

 At the existing Ranger and Olympic Dam uranium mines in Australia these tailings are stored in tailings dams on the surface. At Olympic Dam uranium mine in Roxby Downs there have been reports of leaking tailings dams, and at the Ranger uranium mine on the outskirts of Kakadu national park in the NT there have been over 150 leaks spills and license breaches.

Of every single uranium mine that’s operated in Australia, not one of them has been successfully rehabilitated.

Tailings management is one of the most problematic parts of a uranium mine. It is highly radioactive; it is exposed to the environment and has the potential be blown away as dust or to leak into groundwater. The radioactive material in tailings from uranium mines is radioactive for thousands of years. It is a public health and environmental hazard for much longer than a term of government or the life of a mining company. Uranium mines are radioactive waste dumps.

To find out more about the failed rehabilitation of uranium mines:

http://www.wise-uranium.org

http://civil.eng.monash.edu.au/about/staff/gmudd  

Waste Dumps:

A left over legacy from the Howard era was a piece of legislation called the Commonwealth Radioactive Waste Management Act. This act was described by the Labor party at the time as draconian and promised to repeal the CRWMA if elected. Since the 2007 election of Labor, Federal Minister for Resources Martin Ferguson has not repealed this legislation but has recycled it, calling it the National Radioactive Waste Management Bill and including in it excessive powers for the Federal Government allowing them to override state laws that protect against the imposition of a nuclear waste dump.

Right now the Federal Government is targeting Muckaty Station in the Northern Territory as the preferred site for a National Radioactive Waste Dump. The site was not chosen on scientific or environmental grounds. The site was chosen under controversial circumstances of site nomination. The people of Muckaty have been calling on Federal Minister Martin Ferguson to come to Muckaty Station to sit down and talk with the people who live on the country the people who have to live with this decision. The people of Muckaty say NO! to a radioactive wast dump.

***Muckaty Voices Youtube  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xcuNpT84Ovo

More information on the National Radioactive Waste Management Bill and submissions made to the Senate inquiry in to the NRWMB http://www.aph.gov.au/senate/committee/legcon_ctte/radioactivewaste/index.htm ***

Waste and WA:

As WA opens the door to uranium mining, we are again placing ourselves as a target for the world’s nuclear waste dump, in the late 1990’s international company Pangea were developing plans to set up an international high level radioactive waste dump in the Eastern parts of WA. According to Pangea’s board of directors the timing was not ideal and promised to come back to Australia to deliberately stir the pot[1].

After Pangea collapsed a new company was formed with membership of corporations from Japan, Italy, Belgium, Switzerland, Hungary Lativa, Slovenia and the Netherlands. Many of the board of directors from Pangea now make up the board of company Arius (Association for Regional and International Underground Storage)[2] one of their key objectives is to provide shared storage internationally and regionally for long lived radioactive wastes.

More and more countries with nuclear power are talking about product stewardship, if WA were to become a major uranium exporter we would inevitably receive international pressure to host an international radioactive waste dump. If new federal laws are passed WA may face legislative restraints in opposing this.

For background information on Pangea’s involvement in developing a nuclear waste dump in WA

http://www.archive.anawa.org.au/waste/pangea.html