not in /my/ backyard
Life
So it seems the Federal Government is now trying to build a nuclear waste dump in the Northern Territory. I assume they gave up trying to build one in South Australia. When the plan to build it here was announced we were all predictably up in arms over it as, predictably, people up north are now.
This leads to a problem. I don't know how many other times the Federal Government has tried to find a location for the waste dump, but I imagine that every time it has, the state or territory concerned would have been outraged and attempted to block construction of the dump. Well, where are we going to dump this stuff?
If no-one wants a nuclear waste dump built in their backyard, then there are two possible solutions. We have a few small reactors for research and for producing isotopes needed for medical use. We could close these reactors down so no more waste gets produced, but that would be foolish. All research performed using the reactors would cease and we would would need to stop using those isotopes for things like detecting and killing cancer - hardly very humane, or import them - dangerous, expensive and ignoble.
The other option is to ship it overseas and have someone else store it for us. Apart from the huge expense, this is much more dangerous than storing it in Australia. You have to transport it literally over the sea to get it to the target destination and if that ship runs into trouble, then the waste may well get dumped into the ocean. That would be an ecological disaster. I hope no one would be stupid enough to transport it by air. In addition, we would lose control about how safely and securely it is stored. Some random country could just as well be dumping the waste they are storing in a substandard facility, or straight into the sea just so they can make some easy cash.
The Federal Government seems to be playing hard-ball by passing legislation what would not allow the Northern Territory Government to block the dump being built. If they do not succeed, we should find the best possible (read; safest) location in the country for it and just build it there - whoever's backyard it is. If that happens to be in South Australia, then so be it.
Comments
This 'backyard' line is bullshit anyway. The distances in Australia are so huge that something in your state could be the equivalent of two or four nations away on another continent.
/me tips his hat to mjg's 'best possible location' committment
Posted by: Craig Turner on October 16, 2005 11:28 AM
Did you know that the granite they want to store the waste in is actually more radioactive than the waste itself. So this means that putting waste into a storage facility in these locations actually dilutes the amount of radiation!! Pretty silly arguement. The issue of course is once you allow a low level dump then a high level dump is the next step.
If you spend a lot of time in an old granite stone house, especially in the basement, get yourself checked regularly. Common cause of cancer. You heard it here second
Posted by: Dave on October 18, 2005 07:14 PM
Err, okay.
Posted by: Dave H on October 18, 2005 09:51 PM
Ohmigod, there's two of you?!
Posted by: Mike on October 18, 2005 10:06 PM
Not convinced there's two "Daves", Mike. That's just a bit too far 'out there'. Simpler explanation: I might've blanked out earlier today... I can't remember blanking out, but you'd expect that, wouldn't you.
Posted by: Dave H on October 18, 2005 11:04 PM
Tangential I know, but I think wind farms are actually quite pretty. I'd be perfectly happy to have one in *my* backyard.
Posted by: Joel on October 19, 2005 09:26 PM
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