Mine safety ‘an impossibility’
JOSH ALSTON TOWNSVILLE BULLETIN JULY 15, 2014
TERRORIST cells like Al-Qaeda could target Townsville for uranium to power their nuclear weapons if the controversial Ben Lomond mine is reopened 40km from the city, according to deputy mayor Vern Veitch……
Cr Veitch, who will address an anti-uranium protest rally in Townsville later this month, said he believed that aside from the “extreme consequences” for Townsville if something went wrong at the mine, it could invite terrorists into our backyard.
“There is a risk nuclear products could fall into the wrong hands in the Middle East or Eastern Asia,” he said.
Cr Veitch said “there is always that possibility,” that the uranium mine could make Townsville a target for terrorists. Especially with the large military base (at Lavarack).”…….
With any uranium mining operations at Ben Lomond certain to include a highly radioactive tailings dam, he said it was an “impossibility” to ensure safety at the mine in a tropical region prone to cyclones.
“They definitely haven’t been able to contain spills in tropical Australia and I think it would be an impossibility at this location,” he said.
“The State Mining Warden of the time closed it down (in 1981) because they considered it unsafe … what makes it safe now?……
Citizens Against Mining Ben Lomond spokesman David Sewell fears radioactive materials could be transported via the city to the port and then on to the Great Barrier Reef.
The protest march will start at 9.30am on July 27 on the grassed area behind the Picnic Bay Surf Life Saving Club.
http://antinuclear.net/2014/07/19/ben-%C2%ADlomond-uranium-mine-unsafe-in-the-past-unsafe-now/
“There is a risk nuclear products could fall into the wrong hands in the Middle East or Eastern Asia,” he said.
Cr Veitch said “there is always that possibility,” that the uranium mine could make Townsville a target for terrorists. Especially with the large military base (at Lavarack).”…….
With any uranium mining operations at Ben Lomond certain to include a highly radioactive tailings dam, he said it was an “impossibility” to ensure safety at the mine in a tropical region prone to cyclones.
“They definitely haven’t been able to contain spills in tropical Australia and I think it would be an impossibility at this location,” he said.
“The State Mining Warden of the time closed it down (in 1981) because they considered it unsafe … what makes it safe now?……
Citizens Against Mining Ben Lomond spokesman David Sewell fears radioactive materials could be transported via the city to the port and then on to the Great Barrier Reef.
The protest march will start at 9.30am on July 27 on the grassed area behind the Picnic Bay Surf Life Saving Club.
http://antinuclear.net/2014/07/19/ben-%C2%ADlomond-uranium-mine-unsafe-in-the-past-unsafe-now/
