Radioactive refinery waste site at Hunters Hill a hot topic
HUNTERS Hill residents will finally meet government officials on Wednesday to hear what will be done about the former Radium Hill Refinery site.
Northern District Times
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HUNTERS Hill residents will finally meet government officials on Wednesday to hear what will be done about the former Radium Hill Refinery site.
Property NSW officials have written to more than 500 homes notifying residents of the meeting, to be held at Fairland Hall at 6pm.
Neighbours of the Nelson Pde site, who have endured 10 years of government inaction — have been waiting for the meeting since it was proposed last year.
The residents are desperate for the site to be cleaned up.
While the low-level radioactive waste poses a low risk of harm, the uncertainty has affected property prices.
One of the organisers, John Atkin, said there was a lot of expectation ahead of the meeting.
“We want a firm date when the work is going to start and, more importantly, when it will be complete,” he said.
The Property NSW meeting comes after the neighbours mounted a renewed campaign for action.
The government has been reluctant to clean up the site since 2014, when a proposal to send the waste to Kemps Creek angered people.
The lobbying lead to 200 people attending a residents’ meeting at Hunters Hill Town Hall last month.
Finance Minister Victor Dominello and Planning Minister Anthony Roberts, the state Liberal MPs for Ryde and Lane Cove respectively, said the government had reserved $30 million to fix the site.
A radioactive facility in South Australia is being considered for the disposal.
The Radium Hill Refinery was a uranium processing plant in the 1900s.
The site is fenced and vacant after being declared unsafe in 2007.