Global Climate Change Action

http://www.petitiononline.com/roxstop/petition.html
To: Australian Commonwealth Government

We, the undersigned, ask the Australian Government and Environment Minister the Honourable Peter Garrett to halt the expansion of the Olympic Dam uranium mine in South Australia.

We hold that the risks to human health, safety, the environment and future generations are too great. The mine will add to the already massive radioactive and toxic tailings and waste, inject acid and toxic chemicals into the water table thereby risking our water supply and endangering the mound springs held sacred by the local Arabunna and Barngala peoples. The destination of the uranium mined is in no way assured. We cannot guarantee that Australian uranium will not end up in nuclear weapons.

Indeed the only guarantee we can have is that this mine and it's products will generate intractable, dangerous radioactive waste which there is no safe method of storage.

The small profit to be made by a private corporation by mining this uranium does not outweigh the risk to the public good.

Sincerely,

Robots scour sea for atomic waste

Submarines search for radioactive material dumped off the Scottish coast in the 1980s
full story: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/may/25/pollution.conservation

snips…(bolding mine)

Although the UKAEA kept no precise accounts for building and running Dounreay, it is known to have cost several billion pounds.

“We built the first fast breeder reactor to generate electricity for a national grid”.
For 40 years, test reactors – part of Britain’s fast breeder reactor construction programme – operated there but the technology turned out to be messy. Fast breeders use liquid metal coolants and their contaminated remnants still await removal. “At the time, engineers were only interested in building reactors. No one thought how we might dismantle them,”

The UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA), owners of Dounreay, was eventually fined 140,000 pounds at Wick Sheriff Court last year for ‘very grave errors’ that led to the beach’s contamination. The authority’s safety director, Dr John Crofts, admitted the release represented “an unacceptable legacy.”

Two kilometres of beach outside the Dounreay nuclear plant have been closed since 1983, and fishing banned, when it was found old fuel rod fragments were being accidentally pumped into the sea.

Yellow-cake John: Australia quietly signs up to nuclear club - [Greens-Media] Mon, 17 Sep 2007 Yellow-cake John: Australia quietly signs up to nuclear club Canberra, Monday 17 September 2007 Australian Greens Climate Change