Author Archive: robyn

Parliamentary Inquiry into gas fracking in SE South Australia

FoE members and friends are invited to make a submission into gas fracking in the south east of SA around the Mt Gambier region. See below and contact Robyn for more information robyn.wood@foe.org.au

Inquiry into fracking in South Eastern South Australia

by Cam Walker FoE Melbourne

On 19th November 2014, a motion by Greens MP Mark Parnell to establish a Parliamentary Inquiry into fracking in the South East of SA was passed by the Legislative Council.

Submissions are now being called by the Natural Resources Committee of the SA Parliament.

The Terms of Reference are to consider:

Potential risks and impacts in the use of hydraulic fracturing (fracking) to produce gas in the South East of SA and in particular:

The risks of groundwater contamination;

The impacts upon landscape;

The effectiveness of existing legislation and regulation; and

The potential net economic outcomes to the region and the rest of the state.

Please write a brief submission expressing your concerns about this industry. Simply explain your concerns, add a link to references where you have them, include your name and contact details and send to:

Executive Officer, Natural Resources Committee, GPO Box 572, Adelaide SA 5001, or email: patrick.dupont@parliament.sa.gov.au

Please note that the deadline for submissions is 31st January 2015.

Contact details for enquiries: Ph: (08) 8237 9442, Fax: (08) 8231 9130 or email: patrick.dupont@parliament.sa.gov.au.

Radioactive Exposure Tour June 27 -July 8th 2015

The Radioactive Exposure Tour is a journey through Australia’s nuclear landscape. The Tour has exposed thousands of people to the realities of ‘radioactive racism’ and the environmental and social impacts of uranium mining, radioactive waste and nuclear expansion.

Run by Friends of the Earth, this year’s Tour will take place from Saturday June 27 to Wednesday July 8, 2015.

In 2014 we visited Muckaty Traditional Owners in the Northern Territory before their historic win, stopping a radioactive waste dump on their land. This year, we’re travelling to NSW in light of recent uranium exploration, and continuing on to South Australia.

Yellowcake Uranium oxide accident at Outer Harbor

Yellowcake uranium oxide is transported by truck from the Olympic Dam mine at Roxby Downs in South Australia, through Port Adelaide to the docks at Outer Harbor, to be loaded onto ships for export.  The yellowcake is packed inside sealed drums in a shipping container on the truck.

Early in the evening of Friday October 3rd 2014 an accident occurred at Outer Harbor.  When the shipping container was being unloaded from the truck it slipped and fell to the ground.  Emergency services were called, but as this was an accident involving dangerous goods and Outer Harbor didn’t have the facilities to open the container to check for spillage, the Environment Protection Agency was also called in to advise.  After checking the container with a geiger counter, the EPA determined that there was no radioactivity measurable outside the container.