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Campaigns Better active today than radioactive tomorrow! |
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Parsons Brinckerhoff: dumping nuclear waste on the NT Parsons Brinckerhoff, (formerly in Australia PPK Infrastructure and Engineering) is a key player in the expansion of Australia's nuclear industry. From uranium mines, to nuclear reactors and waste dumps, Parsons Brinckerhoff is dotting the Australian landscape with radioactive crises. In 2004 PB co-authored a report justifying acid in-situ leach mining in South Australia's Beverley mine, a process involving the dumping of liquid radioactive waste directly into groundwater. Acid in-situ leach mining has never been approved in the USA or many other countries because of its destructive environmental impacts, yet PB concluded that over time the site would rehabilitate itself! PPK Infrastructure and Engineering authored the draft Environmental Impact Statement for the second nuclear reactor at Lucas Heights. The process later faced a Senate investigation, and was widely criticised for its lack of public involvement, secrecy and lack of transparency. In 1998, the Federal Government announced its intention to build a national radioactive waste dump in South Australia, and Parsons Brinckerhoff was contracted to complete the draft Environmental Impact Statement. The project was regarded as a Parsons Brinckerhoff (International) "Project of the Year". Yet PB faced massive opposition, and after an amazing community campaign led by the Kupa Piti Kungka Tjuta – a senior Aboriginal women's council - the South Australian government challenged the proposal in the Federal Court, resulting in the abandonment of the project. The Federal Government is now working hard to force a low and intermediate level nuclear waste dump for Commonwealth waste on the Northern Territory. Parsons Brinckerhoff is again the private company awarded the lucrative contract for assessing the proposed sites, and has already begun the surveying process. However, communities surrounding all three of the sites being assessed – Hart's Range, Mt Everard, and Fishers' Ridge – remain strongly opposed to hosting a nuclear waste dump for the next few thousand years. New Commonwealth legislation to override existing NT law and an absence of public consultation and information raised legitimate concerns the process will again be secretive and ignore social and environmental concerns. Nuclear waste is some of the most toxic material in the world, and will remain radioactive for thousands of years. There is still no safe way of storing nuclear waste. The proposed NT waste dump will be a toxic blight on Australia and a direct threat to humans and the environment for thousands of years to come. With PB's fingerprints on all stages of Australia's nuclear cycle – uranium mining, nuclear reactors and radioactive waste dumps – it's clear Parsons Brinckerhoff's impact on Australia is a highly radioactive one. Why we are critical of PB Parsons Brinckerhoff is the private company awarded the lucrative contract to assess the Federal Government's proposed sites for a Commonwealth nuclear waste dump on the Northern Territory. However, communities surrounding all four of the sites being assessed – Hart's Range, Mt Everard, and Fisher's Ridge – remain strongly opposed to hosting a nuclear waste dump for the next few thousand years. Parsons Brinckerhoff has offices in Brisbane, Newcastle, Melbourne, Adelaide, and Perth - and we're looking to disrupt business as usual in ALL their offices, and stop any further attempts to force a nuclear waste dump on the Northern Territory! Get active - Take 10 minutes to write to the NT or national papers - Contact NT Senator Nigel Scullion and MP Dave Tollner, or Science minister Julie Bishop and Prime Sinister John Howard. - Start hassling Parsons Brinckerhoff – [email protected] or their offices. Let them know what you think about their role in forcing nuclear waste on the NT. - Get along to your local group or start up a campaign in your community, |
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Last updated 28 November 2006 |