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Friends of the Earth Adelaide > Clean Futures

National nuclear waste dump submissions

February 19, 2016

Now the six nominated sites for a potential national nuclear waste dump have been announced, the federal government is calling for comments. FOE Adelaide will make a submission in support of the Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal communities who do not want the dump.

Submissions must be received by 11 March 2016 at:

The Department of Industry, Innovation and Science
National Radioactive Waste Section
GPO Box 9839
Canberra ACT 2601
radioactivewaste@industry.gov.au

The shortlisted locations are at http://minister.industry.gov.au/ministers/frydenberg/media-releases/six-voluntary-sites-shortlisted-national-radioactive-waste

Sally’s Flat – New South Wales

Hale – Northern Territory

Cortlinye – South Australia (near Kimba on the Eyre Peninsula)

Pinkawillinie – South Australia (near Kimba on the Eyre Peninsula)

Barndioota – South Australia (near Hawker in the Flinders Ranges.

Oman Ama – Queensland

Clean Futures, Nuclear

Tentative Nuclear Royal Commission findings & submissions

February 19, 2016

The Nuclear Royal Commission announced its tentative findings on Monday 15 February and Commissioner Scarce spoke at the Adelaide Town Hall that night. There were lots of nuclear critics in attendance and many made their displeasure known both outside and inside the meeting.

The report is available here http://nuclearrc.sa.gov.au/tentative-findings/

Responses to the findings are being accepted until 18 March 2016 – details at the above link. You will need a coversheet but no JP signature this time.

A summary of the tentative findings by Dr Jim Green is found here Jim G Tentative Findings Feb 2016

The report was positive about expanding uranium mining and importing international high level waste, but said enrichment and nuclear power were not economic.

We are concerned that the dangers of importing the world’s nuclear waste are being ignored and we are skeptical of the exorbitant claims of how much money this would bring into SA and how many jobs would be created. The dump proposal includes a new deepwater port, rail and airport as well as an interim storage facility.

Clean Futures, FoE

NATIONAL NUCLEAR WASTE DUMP IN SA: TROJAN HORSE FOR AN INTERNATIONAL NUCLEAR WASTE DUMP?

November 21, 2015

MEDIA RELEASE

Friday 13th November 2015

NATIONAL NUCLEAR WASTE DUMP IN SA:

TROJAN HORSE FOR AN INTERNATIONAL NUCLEAR WASTE DUMP?

The Federal Government has released the shortlist of six sites for the location of a national radioactive waste dump.  Three of these sites are in South Australia.

Friends of the Earth Adelaide is cautious about the Federal Governments genuine commitment to a voluntary site nomination and selection process.

“The test will be how the government handles community opposition, how inclusive and transparent the site selection process will be, and how it will handle the issue of existing South Australian legislation banning the establishment of a nuclear waste dump,” said Nectaria Calan of Friends of the Earth Adelaide.

The National Radioactive Waste Management Act 2012, the Act governing the site selection process, over-rides existing state legislation prohibiting the establishment of a nuclear waste dump.

“Will the Federal Government impose a nuclear waste dump on states that have legislated against it, or communities that do not want it?” asked Ms Calan.

“The location of a waste dump cannot simply be decided through individual nominations,” said Ms Calan.  “It affects the wider community, particularly those in close proximity to the site.  Radioactive contamination knows no property boundaries.  The principle of voluntarism extends beyond the individual where an action has wider ramifications,” continued Ms Calan.

“There is yet to be an independent inquiry into all our radioactive waste management options, so the nominations process is premature,” said Ms Calan.

Additionally, here in South Australia the Royal Commission into the Nuclear Fuel Cycle is considering the feasibility of an international nuclear waste dump.

“Will a national nuclear waste repository in SA be the trojan horse for an international high level nuclear waste dump down the track?” asked Ms Calan.

“Rather than considering existing nuclear waste in Australia as an intractable problem, the SA government and some proponents of the nuclear industry seem to consider radioactive waste a business opportunity and want to import it, astounding given that so far globally there has been no success in establishing even one facility for the long term storage of high level waste.”… Read more >>

Clean Futures, FoE, Media releases, Nuclear

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