A Hard Rain
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Issues at Operating Uranium Mines and Mills - Olympic Dam, Australia
Traditional owners 'pressured' into nuclear land leases
The Australian Nuclear Free Alliance says traditional owners, particularly the elderly, are facing increasing pressures from mining companies and governments to lease their land for nuclear development. The alliance of mainly traditional owners held its annual conference near Alice Springs over the weekend. Conference co-chair Donna Jackson says the proposed waste dump at Muckaty Station and the Roxby Downs uranium mine in South Australia are of particular concern. "We're hearing from different people from different states about the pressures on them," she said. "The old people particularly, and the tricks that companies use to get people to sign and not realising the full impacts of what they're signing, and what that means for their ground water especially." (ABC Aug. 16, 2010)
Protesters block road to Olympic Dam uranium mine
An anti-nuclear protester has chained himself to a four-wheel-drive blocking the road to BHP Billiton's Olympic Dam uranium mine in South Australia's far north. About 40 protesters gathered at the mine site on Friday (July 16) afternoon with the group mostly students from NSW. Spokeswoman Jay Fletcher said the group did not intend to leave until they had spoken with a representative from the mine. Another member of the protest group, Zane Alcorn, said their purpose was to highlight the catastrophic effects the mine and its planned expansion would have on traditional owners, their land and future generations. "Not only is the expansion at Olympic Dam going ahead without the consent of traditional owners, but tens of thousands of gigalitres of water per day is being sucked out of the Artesian Basin on Arabunna land to service the mine," he said. (AAP July 16, 2010)
Workers exposed to unsafe levels of radiation at Olympic Dam mine: whistleblower
Workers at BHP Billiton's Olympic Dam are being exposed to unsafe levels of radiation, according to a company whistleblower. BHP Billiton has been warned about the risks at Roxby Downs, but according to South Australian Upper House Greens MP Mark Parnell the company has failed to take action. Mr Parnell says the levels of polonium-210, the toxic by-product of uranium production, have breached health standards. The whistleblower produced documents that show BHP uses manipulated averages and distorted sampling to ensure the figures are below the maximum exposure levels set by government, he said. (Sydney Morning Herald June 4, 2010)
Read more:
http://www.wise-uranium.org/umopauod.html
