Nuclear

Nuclear Waste ballot delayed

roman August 20, 2018

The ballot of residents in Kimba and Hawker, designed to guagesupport for teh proposed dump, has been delayed. It was to start Monday Aug 20th, but will be deferred until arguments from Traditional Owners are heard in the Supreme Court

The Federal Government has short-listed two sites near Kimba and one near Hawker as possible locations for the waste facility.
Postal votes to help determine whether the two communities would accept the waste dump have been put on hold after legal action was launched in the Supreme Court by the Barngarla indigenous people.
The Barngarla Determination Aboriginal Corporation argues that native title holders who live outside the municipal borders of Kimba should be entitled to vote in the postal ballot. The case is scheduled to be heard by the full court this Thursday.

Adelaide FoE Notes, FoE, Nuclear

Feds exaggerate the “benefit” of Nuclear waste Dump

roman August 20, 2018

20 August: A new report into the claimed economic benefits to regional communities of the Federal Government nuclear waste facility has found the government has exaggerated the benefits, and not properly factored in insurance costs and other risks.

“This whole process has been poorly conducted and horribly divisive from day one,” said Craig Wilkins, Chief Executive of Conservation SA.
“Knowing how reluctant many people in Kimba and the Flinders Ranges are to having a nuclear waste dump in their backyard, the Federal Government has greatly over-sold the economic benefits to try and buy community support.
“This report is a reality check for a community sick of the spin from the Federal Government,” he said.
Conservation SA commissioned economic think tank The Australia Institute to examine more closely Federal Government’s claims of an economic windfall for the affected communities.
The Down in the Dumps report compared the current Australian National Radioactive Waste Management Facility (NRWMF) plans with similar facilities overseas, and found a raft of exaggerated jobs and economic return claims. For example, a proposed facility in Canada which is more than one hundred times larger with more functions and features, will cost only half as much to construct and operate.
As the report’s author, Dr Cameron Murray, states: ‘Either the waste facility is orders of magnitude larger than need for Australia’s nuclear waste, or the government has exaggerated the economic returns to the local community of the NRWMF facility’.

(more…)

Adelaide FoE Notes, Nuclear

Don’t Bank on the Bomb!

roman April 27, 2018

2018 report Don’t Bank on the Bomb now available!

Maaike Beenes, co-author, writes —

This report, produced by PAX, a member of the Nobel Peace Prize winning International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear weapons (ICAN) is the only report detailing the global investments by financial institutions in companies producing nuclear weapons.

$525 Billion invested

329 investors made $525 Billion available to nuclear weapon producing companies between January 2014 and October 2017. They assisted with share and bond issuances, owned or managed shares and bonds or outstanding loans or made credit facilities. This is a decrease in the number of investors, but an $81 billion increase in the total amount invested. Find out who invests.

Most investors are from the US, and US$110 billion came from just 3 US financial institutions: Blackrock, Vanguard and Capital Group, all from the United States.

ICAN executive director Beatrice Fihn: “If you have been wondering who benefits from Donald Trump’s threats of nuclear war, this report has that answer. These are the companies that stand to profit from indiscriminate mass murder of civilians. We grow less safe while they cash in on chaos by banking on Armageddon.”

Author of the report Susi Snyder: “The Nuclear Ban Treaty has sparked momentum towards divestment, shown by 10% fewer investors in nuclear weapon producers, and an increase in financial institutions comprehensively prohibiting any investment. Investments are not neutral, these companies should be congratulated for standing on the side of humanity.”

Access the full report here

Adelaide FoE Notes, Divestment, Nuclear

Senate Enquiry National Rad Waste Facility

roman March 1, 2018

Mara Bonacci, the CCSA’s Nuclear Waste campaigner writes:

On 6 February 2018, the Senate referred an inquiry into the selection process for a national radioactive waste management facility in South Australia to the Senate Economics Reference Committee for inquiry and report by 14 August 2018.

This is welcome.

Submissions are due by Tuesday 3rd April.

It would be wonderful if you could write a submission.

The terms of reference can be found here

Some points to consider including are:

A single individual or property owner should not be allowed to nominate a site for a nuclear waste dump.
The federal government have not made a clear or compelling case that we need a national nuclear waste dump in SA.
The consultation process has been deficient and has caused division in our communities.
The federal government plan lacks social licence or community consent. Traditional Owners have flagged concerns over cultural heritage issues.
The project has not considered the full range of options to best advance responsible radioactive waste management in Australia. Australia’s worst waste should be dealt with better.

In addition, I have set up on online submission system that is pre-filled but can be edited. I encourage as many people as possible to take a few minutes to complete.

It would be great to get as many submissions to the Senate Standing Committees on Economics as possible so collectively we can end this terrible process and get the federal government to finally take a responsible approach to radioactive waste management.

Please contact me if you have any questions or need any help with this.

thanks and regards,

Mara Bonacci
Nuclear Waste Campaigner

Usual Hours Monday – Wednesday 10am – 3pm

Conservation Council SA
The Joinery / 111 Franklin Street, Adelaide SA 5000
(08) 8223 5155 mobile: 0422 229 970

Adelaide FoE Notes, Clean Futures, Nuclear

REGARDING THE NATIONAL RADIOACTIVE WASTE MANAGEMENT FACILITY

roman March 1, 2018

A summary of the letter from MAPW to Industry Minister Matt Canavan
Medical Association for the Prevention of War (MAPW), 23 Feb 18

REGARDING THE NATIONAL RADIOACTIVE WASTE MANAGEMENT FACILITY (NRWMF )

1) The process is very divisive. Repeated, highly damaging processes imposed on previously cohesive communities are causing significant harms.

2) Considerable amounts of persistently misleading information have been and continue to be presented to communities. Incorrect and incomplete information does not result in genuine consent.

3) There is a failure to observe international best practice standards for the highly radioactive long lived intermediate level waste (ILW) management. There is no disposal plan whatsoever for ILW, leaving the problem for many future generations.

REGARDING THE EXPANSION OF NUCLEAR MEDICINE PRODUCTION FOR EXPORT

1) There is a lack of demonstrable “Net benefit”. The proposed 40 year-long expansion of medical isotope production needs genuine cost/benefit analysis to make sure this is not a heavily subsidised product being sold into the global market at the expense of the Australian community both now and in the future. Independent NEA/OECD economic modelling finds only 10-15% cost recovery of isotope manufacture when there is genuine inclusion of all costs.

2) The expansion will create 40 years of significantly increased production of ILW.

3) ANSTO has a narrative of global shortages, yet given falling demand and increasing global supply there is no shortage of Mo99. The NEA/OECD predict a significant oversupply.

4) Again, there is no plan whatsoever for disposal of the additional ILW generated.

Both processes are unacceptably flawed.

Medical Association for the Prevention of War (MAPW) urges

A halt to the current NRWMF process until such time as world’s best practice is followed. There is sufficient capacity at the Lucas Heights facility, once regulatory approvals are met, to store Low Level Waste (LLW) and Intermediate Level Waste (ILW) well into the next decade.
Cessation of expansion of nuclear medicine for export, and a phase out of exports, until there is demonstrated, publicly available, clear analysis of cost/benefit and plans for appropriate disposal of the substantial amount of ILW this process will generate.
Transparent evaluation of “net benefit” to the Australian community. This as a whole must underpin the process, and be based on cradle to grave impacts of production.
Recognition that currently the information provided to communities is riddled with so much misinformation it calls into question the underlying validity of any community consent process.

In closing, it is clear there is an urgent need for an independent inquiry into the production and management of Australia’s nuclear waste.