Australians in general don't seem to realise that we are obligated to take back this radioactive trash that originated at Lucas Heights. It is a relatively small amount from, France, the UK, and Argentina.

It probably could be stored safely at Lucas Heights, particularly if we now stopped creating this trash.

Unfortunately, the nuclear lobby has seized on this as a foot in the door, for making South Australia become the world's nuclear trash dump.

South Australia Nuclear Fuel Cycle Royal Commission asks for submissions - curiously this is seen as a State matter, not a national matter. However, the Royal Commission is inviting submissions from international nuclear companies. Their submissions may not be published - "commercial confidentiality".

Australians in general would hardly know that this is happening.

What needs to be done is the closing down of the Lucas Heights nuclear reactor, and the rejection of this super expensive and toxic industry.

Yes, Lucas Heights does produce medical radioisotopes. Yes those can be made by non nuclear means, as Canada is now doing. Yes, medical radioisotopes made by non nuclear cyclotrons are very expensive.

But in the total scheme of things, in the long run, to continue making and welcoming radioactive trash to this country is going to be much more expensive.
But do we care about our grandchildren?

Interesting, but what about the radioactive waste produced by the production of wind turbines? Ah that's alright it is in China!

Reportedly coal fired power stations have produced uranium in the smokestack emission as well as a whole host of equally or more dangerous heavy metal toxins, which after having contaminated the lungs of some of us, inevitably wind up in waterways, our drinking water, and the bellies of various marine animals.

Some of which may find their way onto our dinner tables and thereby into us!

Antinuclear activists never acknowledge that some nuclear waste started life as mined uranium coming out of aboriginal land, and for which they may have earned royalties for.

Their ignorance is only exceeded by their obdurate obtuse commentary and extremely dated misinformation!

You are likely to get a bigger dose of rads from ten hours in the air, than what you might pick up in twenty years camping on top of buried waste? Nor is it made less safe by a possible earthquake.

Which can't do much except perhaps slice a canister or two in half! And given the intended solid state nature of the waste, makes little or no difference to the background rads we might be experiencing!

We'd likely get a lower reading than what we'd get day on day from the walls of a granite stone building.

Stop and smell the Co2, which is what is threatening us with a global extinction event, not nuclear power or even a few canisters of deeply buried nuclear waste.

And more germane to hunter gatherer Aborigines than a few canisters of faraway deeply buried waste!

Aborigines need to camp near water, and therefore many miles from any possible or intended site.

And that factor makes waterless sites on the driest inhabited continent on earth the only place to bury this waste, where it'd be safer than the thousand year old dead sea scrolls!

Stop with the hyperventilated hysteria and listen to someone like Tony Lavis, who at least knows what he is talking about. As do those of us who spent years working with radioactive material as just a useful and not overly dangerous tool!

Even if Jonny Q towel head had a backhoe he'd have trouble digging through solid bedrock, which is the only place to safely store this stuff!
Does anybody have any idea just how well the dead sea scrolls were preserved when they were recovered from a cave after a thousand years of incarceration high up on the side of a desert mountain!

And given the waste would be buried even deeper in a safer drier excavated man made tunnel and then buried as rock crete, inside stainless steel drums that are then packed tight in cast iron containers more durable than a forty ton loco!

And given one could then back pack the space around the steel drums and the casks with pumped concrete, to make the task of digging it up again by Jonny Q towel head an almost impossible task!

If the dead sea scrolls were safe, in a naturally dry natural repository, then any waste would be even safer in a studier man made inherently drier repository!

The only thing making nuclear waste available as a weapon for Johnny Q towel head is the disingenuous mendacity of the antinuclear brigade.

Who will as is their want, invent all the highly inventive horror movie excuses to prevent it being safely buried and therefore out of reach of the snatch and grab intending terrorist!
Rhrosty.

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Plantagenet
"The odd coincidence that Aboriginal land is chosen for waste dumps suggest white landowners don't want waste dumps on their own land - for some reason".

Don't be silly plantagenet, they would be compensated at least 10 times what a white landholder would get for the same level of disturbance. More sit down money, & more for the aboriginal industry gravy train. Many Graziers, struggling with drought & low prices would give their right arm for such a source of income.

With aboriginal land, we would be paying rent for ever. With white land, it would be resumed, with little recompense.

As for danger, with the latest technology this waste has become a new valuable source of energy, far to valuable to throw away. Future waste will be so exhausted you would be able to eat it.

Thanks Toni for confirming that you wriggle around all over the place to avoid admitting the truth. As I said, activists couldn't lie straight in bed.

Another issue is of course the bulk of the radioactive waste is produced by hospitals treating cancers of various sorts. It is usually low level with a short half life, but it is still radioactive waste. The Lucas Heights facility is a small reactor which as I understand it is used to produce isotopes for medical treatment. It is was hooked up to a generator it could probable power a fair bit of Sydney.