Historic Hill End - A Nuclear Waste Storage Facility?

I think Maralinga would be a good site , well away from civilisation ,
as you said it will never be habitable for humans again .always controlled by Com of Aust
as long as they do it safely I don,t have a problem with it
cheers mechpete

I don't see why Maralinga general area wouldn't be a good place as well Landy.

But I don't agree with the somewhat nebulous idea of current occupiers as traditional owners having final say.

All of us are and should be subject to laws of the land and occasionlly we are in wrong place at wrong time and our house or land and taken for public good to build freeways etc.

We don't like it and so due process needs to be done and seen to be done , and we have to wear the outcome !

Wasn't that current list produced from sites nominated by locals in the area.

The Woomera area is a huge and guarded area that will probably never be returned to anyone with the Commonwealth probably maintaining control for a few generations at least. Why not consider this area with its good road infrastructure. Maralinga road access is not that good and security along the way in is questionable. Concerns about that dreadlock lot!! My two bobs worth.

How about disposal into disused or unused uranium mines?
We would not be first in the World to dispose it smart way.
So why not to learn how someone else with long mining
and long use tradition do it, in stud try to invent things and in
process ruin even more land.
Cheers Dana

Mate, if you start storing nuclear waste in the outback then the Chinese won't keep buying the country out from under us.
How very un-Australian of you :)

Hi Baz,
I think there is a bit of confusion about this nuclear waste disposal issue. There are 2 kinds of waste to be put in a safe place. One is low level waste from hospitals, universities etc and the other kind is waste from nuclear reactors. The former is what the Sally's Flat proposal is about - and there are numerous sites around the country, nominated by landholders, with or without consultation with their neighbours. As for being "on someone's doorstep", well that is where most of it is right now, as much of this kind of low level waste is, I believe, stored at Lucas Heights in Sydney. My understanding is that the danger from this kind of waste is similar to the level of background radiation that people living in granite areas are exposed to - granite rocks emit some radiation but it is not considered to be a hazard to life. So imho its not too critical where this waste goes and the criteria for site selection probably have more to do with transport access, long term security and stability rather than concerns about radiation.

Whether Maralinga with its already contaminated areas would be suitable as a long term storage area for higher grade waste is a separate issue. Seems attractive at first glance but then we recall that the whole area lies above limestone rocks with caves and fissures leading off in all directions. Given that limestone is soluble (slowly) I doubt that it would be a good substrate for long term (thousands of years) storage for high grade waste. Given the geological age of continental Australia there must be numerous sites that are geologically stable where such waste could be stored. All that has to be done is solve all the numerous political conundrums associated with this topic.

I think the whole population would need to approve proposals for storage for high level waste, not just local residents whatever their association with the land. And given the level of scientific ignorance that prevails in the broader community I doubt that there is much chance of agreement.

As a side issue I am very uncomfortable judging past events (by "colonial powers") that were done according to the values and practices of times past, by today's standards. As you say, time moves on. No doubt some of the things that we do as best practice today will, in the future, be considered ill advised, inappropriate, stupid or worse.

Thanks though for a stimulating thread topic.

Cheers,

Val.

According to my recent trip there, the traditional owners at Maralinga would not be upset if it went there. They don't want the land, it is geographically and geologically stable and close to rail sidings for transportation. Even the local animals bypass it, or walk around the blast sites. So much for our stupid politicians trying to sort this out when there is an answer staring them in the face. I firmly believe that everything we hate about Australia has been given to us by a politician. In Maralinga's case, the traditional owners will have the final say. Thankful for small mercies I suppose.

low level..... lol... because they say so???
why would you need to bury low level waste 5-7m down completely entombed in concrete?

Hill end has one good thing going for it as a nuclear dump. Its 2500 kms away from where i live.
A bit selfish of me perhaps

do you really think theres a need to bury low level waste over 8m underground?

and completely entome it in cement?