Federal Government woos residents near proposed South Australian radioactive waste dump with trips to nuclear reactor in Sydney
FREE trips to Sydney’s nuclear reactor are being offered to residents near the South Australian property where the Federal Government hopes to build a radioactive waste dump.
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FREE trips to Sydney’s nuclear reactor are being offered to residents near the South Australian property where the Federal Government hopes to build a radioactive waste dump.
Cabinet is due to make a final decision by the end of the year on whether to build the national low-level radioactive waste management facility at Barndioota, 35km northwest of Hawker.
No other communities have come forward with rival proposals to host the centre since Barndioota was chosen at the preferred location last year.
As part of a community consultation process, a dozen people from the Barndioota area have visited the Lucas Heights Nuclear reactor in Sydney and another nine are due to visit by the end of January.
The Sydney trips were designed to teach community representatives about how the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation’s OPAL reactor creates medicine and industrial products.
Participants were also provided with information about the storage of radioactive waste at Lucas Heights and how the waste would be packaged for transport to Barndioota.
If regulatory approvals were granted, trucks would begin delivering low and intermediate-level radioactive waste to the new waste dump in 2020.
Federal Resources Minister Matt Canavan said the Government wanted to give the community as much information as possible about the production and use of nuclear material and the storage of radioactive waste.
“The waste comes mainly from medical procedures,’’ Senator Canavan said.
“Visiting the ANSTO facility takes away the air of mystery about the production of nuclear materials and the size and storage of the waste.”
Senator Canavan said the Barndioota community was approaching the issue in good faith.
“I visited the region late last year and met with local landholders, business operators and traditional owners to talk with them about the next steps and to further explain the importance of the facility,’’ he said.
“The next steps will be to complete a heritage survey of the site, working with traditional owners. That will begin in the coming…weeks.”
A survey found 59 per cent of local residents had no serious concerns about the radioactive waste dump proposal. But there was still strong opposition from some locals, including traditional landowners.
Indigenous leader Regina McKenzie said she was pleased the Government had agreed to undertake an Aboriginal cultural heritage assessment but remained extremely sceptical about the waste dump proposal.
“We’re very concerned about protecting ecosystems,” she said.