What’s happened so far
in Central Australia?
July 2005
The Australian Government announced
plans for a radioactive waste dump in
the NT. Two of the sites proposed by the
government were in the CLC region: Mt
Everard and Harts Range (Alcoota).
Aug - Nov 2005
CLC Council resolved: “The CLC strongly
opposes the siting of a nuclear waste dump
in Central Australia. The CLC calls on the
Australian Government to abandon its
plans for a waste dump near Harts Range
or Mt Everard and to instead develop a
strategy for storing and managing the
waste at Lucas Heights in Sydney”.
Traditional owners travel to Canberra to
voice their opposition.
June 2014
Hearings started in Tennant Creek for
the federal court case brought by some
traditional owners against the nomination
of Muckaty.
19 June 2014
The NLC and the Australian Government
announced that they would no longer
pursue the Muckaty site nomination.
25 June 2014
The CLC received a letter from the Minister
for Industry, Ian McFarlane. It says if
land councils do not nominate a site for a
radioactive waste management facility on
Aboriginal land by 30 September 2014 he
will start a national selection process.
Proposed national
radioactive waste
management
facility
What is radioactive waste?
Radioactive waste is waste that contains
radioactive material. Radioactive material
usually comes from nuclear-power
generation or other nuclear technology
used for research and medicine.
The period of time waste must be stored
depends on the type and level of waste.
It can range from a few days for very
short lived radioactive waste to millions
of years for spent nuclear fuel.
Radioactive waste can be extremely
dangerous to people, plants and animals
and needs to be carefully managed.
Because of these dangers the
management of radioactive waste
must be carefully controlled by the
government. How this radioactive waste
is stored depends on how radioactive it is.
Radioactive material breaks down
over time. Radioactive waste has to be
isolated and stored safely until it is no
longer dangerous.
RALLY AGAINST MUCKATY: Locals voice their opposition to the proposed dump, Tennant Creek 2011
2007
The NLC nominated the Muckaty site. Many
traditional owners in the Tennant Creek
region were opposed.
8 August 2014
The CLC received a letter from a group of
traditional owners expressing interest and
wanting to know more.
April 2012
The Australian parliament passed the
second version of its radioactive waste
law - the National Radioactive Waste
Management Act 2012. Mt Everard and
Alcoota sites were off the list.
September 2014
The CLC must consult both traditional
owners, and affected communities.
First meetings will be held before 30
September deadline.
website www.clc.org.au
email [email protected]
THE NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE A radioactive waste management facility
is a crucial part of the nuclear fuel cycle
What kinds of
radioactive waste
are there?
There are three kinds of radioactive waste:
1. short lived (or low level)
2. long lived (or medium level)
3. very long lived (or high level)
1
Short lived
(or low level)
radioactive waste
2
Long lived
(or medium level)
radioactive waste
3
Very long lived
(or high level)
radioactive waste
Strength
Strength
Strength
Radioactive for
Radioactive for
Radioactive for
DECISIONS ON ABORIGINAL LAND
What is the CLC’s job?
› Get all the information that we need
› Consult with traditional owners of the
country that may be nominated
› Present all the information traditional
owners need so they can make an
informed decision as a group
1 generation
5>100 years
› Consult with affected communities
and groups and listen to what they
have to say
20 generations
1000s of years
1000s of generations
Millions of years
The CLC takes this job very seriously.
It will make sure that everyone
understands properly what the
Australian government has proposed,
that everyone can have their say and
that everyone has a chance to really
consider this important decision.
The CLC will invite representatives
from the government to explain
their proposal. It will also ask other
experts to talk about radioactivity and
environmental concerns.
What happens next?
The Council will consider the outcome of
the consultations with traditional owners
and affected communities.
The Council will decide whether or
not to nominate a site in the CLC
region for the proposed nuclear waste
management facility, based on the
outcomes of the consultations.
Why does the Australian
Government want a
national radioactive waste
management facility?
Where does radioactive
waste in Australia
come from?
LUCAS HEIGHTS 25KM SOUTH OF SYDNEY: The new reactor (left) and closed down old reactor
Most of the radioactive waste in Australia
comes from the Lucas Heights reactor in
Sydney. This is Australia’s only nuclear
reactor. It belongs to the Australian
Nuclear Science and Technology
Organisation (ANSTO) and is used for
scientific research and to make material
for medicine and industry.
Lucas Heights produces most (90%) of
Australia’s short lived (or low level)
radioactive waste. At the moment the
short lived (low level) waste is stored at
Lucas Heights.
It also produces the most radioactive
type of waste in Australia – the long lived
(medium level) radioactive waste. The
spent fuel rods from inside the reactor
are sent overseas for reprocessing.
Reprocessing is a bit like recycling and
cannot be done in Australia. This waste
cannot stay overseas but needs to be
stored back in Australia.
The Australian Government wants to
store the radioactive waste it makes or
controls, including all the waste from
Lucas Heights.
Because Australia does not have
any nuclear power plants that make
electricity we do not produce any high
level waste here.
The CLC has asked the government for
details about the proposed facilty. At this
stage the government has not given the
CLC any details.
TRANSPORTING NUCLEAR WASTE FOR REPROCESSING: Waste is transported to France and Scotland
to be reprocessed and then sent back to Australia for storage. Image shows proposed site
This national facility will also accept waste
from all the other states and territories.
It would not take radioactive waste made
by other countries around the world.
Do we need a waste management facility
for medical reasons?
Australians can still have access to medical
treatment without needing to have the
Lucas Heights Reactor or a radioactive
waste management facility. We can import
the isotopes we need from overseas.
What are the benefits of the
proposed facility?
The facilty will deal with the problem
of radioactive waste - it does need to be
stored safely in Australia somewhere.
EXISTING NUCLEAR WASTE FACILITIES: low-level waste storage pits in Vaalputs in South Africa (left)
and at the Nevada National Security Site in America
What are the concerns
about a national
radioactive waste
management facility?
› Radiation – impact on the environment
Radiation is extremely dangerous and
long lived (medium level) radioactive
waste stays radioactive for up to tens of
thousands of years. No one is sure how
to store the material safely given that
it lasts for such a long time. Over time,
the radioactive material may be carried
through dust or may leak into the water
table and the surrounding environment.
› Radiation and health
Being exposed to radiation can make
people very sick, and depending on the
level of the exposure it can kill them.
It can cause cancer.
› Transport
The waste will have to be transported
to the facility by either road or train.
There is a risk that accidents will
happen along the way.
› Law
The CLC has always been concerned
about the way this law started by
focusing on a waste management
facility on Aboriginal land in the
NT rather than looking for the best
place nationally. It also over-rides the
national environmental and heritage
protection laws.
The law for this proposed facility allows
for Aboriginal land to be ‘acquired’ by
the government. It does not guarantee
that country will be handed back at
the end of the process. It gives the
government the power to take land
for access roads to the facility if they
need it. It can do this without asking
traditional owners.
What is the process?
The Australian government has made a
law to guide the selection of a site for
a radioactive waste management
facility. This law allows for the land
councils in the NT to nominate a site on
Aboriginal land
The minister said he will start the
national selection process on 30
September 2014 if the land councils have
not nominated a site before that date.
He also said that the Australian
Government is only interested in a site
› if traditional owners consent (agree) and if the traditional owners agree and if
› affected communities and groups have the land councils can show that the site
is not disputed.
had a chance to have their say.
If the land councils do not nominate
a site on Aboriginal land in the NT the
minister will invite other states and
territories to nominate a site.
1
Short lived (or low level)
radioactive waste
This waste is radioactive for a short time, around 5 up to even 100 years.
It comes from hospitals and medicines, laboratories, smoke detectors and
poisoned soil.
This kind of waste is not very radioactive but it must still be stored safely.
The Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) produces
90% of Australia’s short lived radioactive waste.
Short lived waste will be stored in this facility and is likely to be buried in
drums under ground.
2
Long lived (or medium level)
radioactive waste
This waste is much more dangerous and can be radioactive for up to tens
of thousands of years. It sends out large amounts of radiation and is about
1000 times more radioactive than short lived nuclear waste.
Long lived nuclear waste in Australia comes from:
› radioisotopes from the Lucas Heights reactor
› spent fuel rods from the Lucas Heights reactor
› contaminated (poisoned) laboratory equipment and machinery
› mining and processing mineral sands
The spent fuel rods from Lucas Heights have been sent overseas for reprocessing.
The Australian government has a duty to bring the reprocessed fuel rods back
to Australia for storage.
Long lived waste will be put in this proposed waste management facility.
The Australian Government has not told us how much will be stored here
or how it will be kept safe.
3
Very long lived (or high level)
radioactive waste
This waste is usually produced by nuclear power reactors. It is highly
radioactive and very dangerous. It needs to be stored safely for up to hundreds
of thousands of years.
Some people think Australia should build a high level waste facility and
take waste from overseas, but at the moment there are no plans to store
high level waste in Australia.