Abandoned Kakadu mines are still radioactive
BY BRIAN TUPPA memo from the Office of the Supervising Scientist, leaked to environmentalists on June 6, has confirmed that abandoned South Alligator uranium mines are posing a radiation hazard to the public in Kakadu National Park.
The South Alligator uranium mines operated from 1959 until 1962 providing uranium for the British nuclear weapons program but were abandoned in 1962. Radioactive tailings were poured onto a flat area below the uranium mill and left exposed. In 1986 the tailings were mined for gold as part of a clean up program, however an early wet season in 1986 again saw the operation abandoned and the bulk of the tailings buried in hastily dug shallow pits.
The Northern Territory Environment Centre's Mark Wakeham said We now have confirmation that the situation is deteriorating at South Alligator and that the area poses a significant radiological hazard.
According to the centre, people visiting the UDP Falls in Kakadu are driving past areas where they are exposed to airborne radiation. This type of radiation is spread via dust particles. Inhalation of even minute quantities of dust can be extremely dangerous.
For traditional owners who live in the region the acid drainage and airborne radiation problems pose unacceptable risks to health, Wakeham said. Radiation levels are greater than at the former Nabarlek mine, which is considered unsuitable for full-time occupancy. Once again Aboriginal people in the Kakadu region are bearing the impacts of uranium mining.
Wakeham wants thorough environmental impact assessments and rehabilitation efforts and has said that, as the major uranium mining company in the Top End, Energy Resources Australia should be required to contribute to costs.
Radioactive hazards at South Alligator once again demonstrate that mining is incompatible with Kakadu's values, Wakeham said.