Sustainable Development

The Environment

Of the people working on uranium mining sites in South Australia most are employed on mining and processing activities. Relatively few are employed full time on environmental activities. Those who are employed as environmental staff are responsible for waste management, ionizing radiation safety, environmental research, and rehabilitation.

Thousands of hectares of bush, swales, clay pans and other ecologically important areas have been destroyed at Roxby Downs. The majority of the toxic radioactive wastes produced at Roxby are disposed of on the surface and will eventually cover an area of  720 hectares to a height of 30 metres.

The Olympic Dam project at Roxby Downs has significant environmental impacts on the Great Artesian basin. the unique Mound Springs, on wetlands, on radiological pollution, and on air pollution including greenhouse gas emissions.

Uranium mining at Beverley and Honeymoon is causing radiological pollution and pollution of the underground water.

The final product of uranium mining, irrespective of whether the uranium is used for nuclear weapons, nuclear power, or research, is high level radioactive nuclear waste. The uranium mining industry takes no responsibility for the way in which its product is used or for the wastes produced from its use. Despite constant objections from environmental organizations such as the Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF), Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth (FoE), and the Conservation Council of SA (CCSA), Environmental Impact Statements (EIS) for uranium mining do not address these issues.

Greater technical detail can be found on this topic by searching through the listed briefing papers and education resources at http://www.ccsa.asn.au/nic/.

In this section - Sustainable Development

• What is Sustainable Development
• The Environment
• Generation of Electricity