Pangea campaign begins
By Grant Coleman
PERTH — The relocation soon of the head office of Pangea Resources, the company that has proposed the construction of an international high-level nuclear waste dump in Australia, indicates its interest in putting the dump in Western Australia.
Pangea will not receive a warm welcome here. The Anti-Uranium Coalition of WA has been campaigning against the dump plan since it was revealed in December. Mary Olson, an anti-nuclear activist from the United States, recently launched a series of public meetings to oppose the plan.
A University of WA conference on the Pangea plan on August 21 will be dominated by speakers who support Pangea. The public will not be allowed to attend, but UWA students are organising a counter-conference to highlight the environmental impacts of uranium mining, nuclear power and nuclear waste.
Liberal deputy premier Colin Barnett, who is promoting the development of at least 11 uranium mines in WA, has said that, if the state is become a big player in uranium mining, it must expect to take back some waste. According to opinion polls, about 80% of WA residents oppose uranium mines in the state.