Australian radioactive spills - fears for Kakadu National Park

Spill of contaminated material at Ranger uranium mine; locals fear for Kakadu National Park

The operators of the Ranger mine in the Northern Territory say a spill of uranium and acid has been contained, and there will be no impact to the environment.

ABC,

7 December, 2013

A huge tank in the processing area of the mine failed about 1:00am (ACST) on Saturday.

The tank containing radioactive material burst open and its contents flowed outside the banks meant to keep any leaks contained.

As much as 1,000 cubic metres of slurry was spilled at the mine site near Jabiru.

Workers had discovered a hole in the side of the tank and were evacuated before the tank burst and the slurry escaped.

The mine's operator, Energy Resources of Australia (ERA), says no-one was injured and no uranium leaked off the site into the surrounding Kakadu National Park.

But traditional owner groups say they are "sick with worry" about the potential environment impact.

It's a catastrophic failure on the part of not only the operator but also the government regulators in the Northern Territory and Canberra.

Justin O'Brien, Gundjeihmi Aboriginal Corporation chief executive

Photos of the site taken by the Gundjeihmi Aboriginal Corporation and supplied to the ABC suggest material did spill onto grassy ground at the site.

ERA spokesman Tim Eckersley says there is no environmental emergency.

"They evacuated the area and at about 1:00am the tank basically split at the bottom and the processing slurry, which is a mixture of mud and water, has spilled out the bottom of the tank.

"That's the beginning of our processing operations, so it's a mixture of ground-up uranium ore and acid."

He said the material mostly spilled onto compacted earth, tarmac and drains.

"It's very impervious material so there's very little chance of it leaking into the soil there," Mr Eckersley added.

The company said earlier in a statement the slurry moved outside the containment area, but was captured and contained on-site.

"As the material was contained within the processing area there is no impact on the environment surrounding the Ranger project area," the statement said.

Investigation begins as anti-nuclear campaigners slam company

Federal Environment Minister Greg Hunt has ordered an immediate clean-up and investigation.

A spokesman for the minister said the leak has been contained and will have no impact on Kakadu National Park.

But the Northern Territory Environment Centre is calling for an immediate halt to operations at the mine.

The centre estimates around 1 million litres of acidic radioactive material spilled from the processing tank.

As the material was contained within the processing area there is no impact on the environment surrounding the Ranger project area.

"Just within this month we've had an incident where a controlled vehicle was able to leave a secure area of the mine and was halfway down the Arnhem Highway before it was located," she said.

"We've had four barrels found in the rural area in Darwin, four barrels used to transport uranium were discarded with no explanation."

Greens Senator Scott Ludlam has called for an indefinite suspension of operations at the Ranger mine.

"It is hard to imagine a worse time for Environment Minister Greg Hunt to be deregulating the uranium sector and leaving it to the states and territories," he said in a statement.

"This is an industry that demands much tighter regulation as we go down the path to permanently phasing it out.

"The writing has been on the wall at Ranger for a long time. This disaster may well be the last nail in this accident-prone mine."

Traditional owners call for audit of mine

The Gundjeihmi Aboriginal Corporation (GAC), which represents the Mirarr traditional owners of the area, says this is one of the worst nuclear incidents in Australian history and has called for an audit of the site's facilities.

"People living just a few kilometres downstream from the mine don't feel safe," GAC chief executive Justin O'Brien said.

"How can we trust the assurances of a company which has repeatedly failed to safely manage this highly toxic material? What may happen next?

"It's a catastrophic failure on the part of not only the operator but also the government regulators in the Northern Territory and Canberra."

It is not yet known how long it will take for work to resume at the site.

The company has applied to the Federal Government for a large underground expansion of the mine, called the Three Deeps project.

Traditional owners have not yet given their approval.

Radioactive spill in Kakadu stirs rage

It began as a 10-centimetre tear in a leach tank at Ranger uranium mine, in Kakadu National Park. Within an hour it turned into what some are calling one of the worst radioactive accidents in Australia's history

SMH,

9 December, 2013

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''It's a massive failure,'' said Justin O'Brien, chief executive of the Gundjeihmi Aboriginal Corporation, which represents the local Mirarr people. ''It's hillbilly mining, and it's not good enough.''

About 12.30am on Saturday morning, mine staff noticed liquid squirting from a crack in Leach Tank 1, a large above-ground tank containing more than 1.4 million litres of highly acidic radioactive slurry. Using a crane, they attempted to cover the crack with a steel plate, before noticing a second hole.

Community response: "It's hillbilly mining, and it's not good enough". Photo: Glenn Campbell

All personnel were then evacuated, shortly after which the tank burst, spilling more than 1 million litres of mud, water, sulphuric acid and radioactive liquid. Such was the force and volume of the spill that the crane was damaged and pushed back a metre. It is understood the radioactive liquid then flowed outside the ''bunded area'', or nearby containment banks, onto grassed areas and into the mine's stormwater and drainage system.

The mine's operator, Energy Resources Australia, said no one was hurt, and that ''multiple containment systems'' prevented the spill having any impact on the Kakadu National Park. ''All water monitoring points have reported normal readings,'' the company said.

But locals are not so sure. ''They can claim that the stormwater system is not connected to the environment,'' Mr O'Brien said. ''But they need to demonstrate that to us beyond reasonable doubt, because we have lost trust.''

Alarm: About 60 Mirarr people live at Mudginberri, on Magela Creek. Photo: Glenn Campbell

About 60 Mirarr people live at Mudginberri, on Magela Creek, just seven kilometres downstream from the mine. ''It's the wet now; it rains every day,'' Mr O'Brien said. ''That creek is flowing right past the mine and into the community, where they fish and hunt, get barramundi, catfish, mussels. They drink the water. They play in it. People are worried sick.''

The spill is the latest of more than 120 incidents at Ranger, which has been mining and processing uranium for more than 30 years. In March 2004, 28 Ranger workers were found to have drunk and showered in water containing 400 times the legal limit of uranium. Later, an excavator covered in radioactive mud was taken to the town of Jabiru for cleaning, contaminating a mechanic and his children. The Howard government threatened to shut the mine after a Senate committee inquiry found a ''persistent pattern of under-performance and non-compliance''.

This year there has been the theft of a vehicle from the controlled radiological area, and the disappearance of four 44-gallon drums of a type used to store yellowcake. (They later turned up in bushland south of Darwin, having been gifted to a Ranger employee. The company claims the drums had received a radiation release certificate.)

''ERA has form with this,'' said Gavin Mudd, of the Mining Policy Institute, who also consults to the Gundjeihmi Aboriginal Corporation. ''The company has a history of delaying infrastructure maintenance in order to maximise profits.''

ERA has been under enormous financial pressure, because of a drop in uranium prices post-Fukushima, and last year's cessation of open-cut mining. The company trumpets its new $220 million brine concentrator which came online this September. But some observers say it has been too little, too late.

''It comes down to regulation,'' Mr O'Brien said. ''They are too close to the regulators, both state and federal … they have the same dry technical 'whitefellas know best' attitude. What we need is robust independent oversight. We simply cannot trust a pack of hillbillies who have been consistently found wanting in regard to safety.''

Environment Minister Greg Hunt said government officials have already been on site. ''It is unacceptable. It is something on which we have taken immediate action in terms of instructing the Supervising Scientists Office to attend, commanding there be an investigation and instructing that there be an immediate clean-up.''