The Wire

Last week at the Ranger Uranium Mine in Kakadu National Park, workers coming off night shift complained that the water in the showers was making them itchy. When tested, this water was found to contain levels of uranium up to 400 times the safe drinking standard. On Friday it was confirmed that at the same time, an estimated 150,000 litres of contaminated water had spilt from a holding tank into a feeder creek system for Kakadu’s World Heritage listed wetlands. This is part of a wider pattern which has seen over 120 leaks, spills and ‘incidents’ at the Ranger uranium mine since it opened in 1981. The Northern Territory Government looks set to prosecute Energy Resources Australia for breaching it’s operating licence by failing to ensure contaminated water stays in a closed system. Australian Conservation Foundation Anti-Uranium Coordinator, Dave Sweeney, thinks if this goes ahead, it will be an historic step.

Australian Conservation Foundation – Anti-Nuclear Campaign
Energy Resources of Australia