Radiation leak in Kakadu
Uranium mining operations are directly threatening the long-term integrity of Kakadu National Park, the Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) said on November 19.
The statement followed news of a radioactive spill which took place on November 15 at Energy Resources of Australia's Ranger uranium mine in Kakadu. A valve malfunction at the mine resulted in contaminated material escaping from the tailings dam and the mine's "restricted release zone".
The extent of the spill is not known, but it adds to a record of more than 100 publicly documented breaches, leaks and incidents at the mine in less than two decades.
ACF uranium campaigner Dave Sweeney said: "Uranium tailings contain around 85% of the radioactivity of the original ore body, and a Senate 1997 inquiry found that their management was one of 'the most serious challenges facing uranium miners'. It is a challenge ERA has clearly failed to meet and shows this industry must be stopped, not expanded."
News of the spill came as ERA warned that a global surplus of uranium and falling spot prices would mean a drop in future sales and profit. ERA's share value has been steadily falling — from around $5.60 in 1996 to $1.86 at present.
Later this month, the signatories to UNESCO'S World Heritage Convention will meet in Japan to decide whether Kakadu — one of fewer than 20 places in the world that has been granted world heritage status for both natural and cultural reasons — should be placed on an "in danger" list because of the company's uranium mining activities.
"This recent spill highlights both the threats and the long-term problems of radioactive waste management", Sweeney said. "Environmentalists, traditional Aboriginal owners and the majority of Australian people, who oppose Jabiluka, can have little confidence in ERA's claims to care for the future of our largest national park."