ChristinaMac

Thank you for your keen observations. As it happens I live in a solar powered house and I produce more electricity than I use. Is that your situation as well? Admittedly I don't have first hand experience of running a nuclear power station but I am continuously exposed to radioactivity.

No doubt some small scale energy experiments are going gangbusters. However Australia will soon need at least 20 gigawatts of ultra-low emissions continuous electrical output. The baby experiments will need to turn into strapping teenagers that can support themselves. If that doesn't happen then green dreamers (including perhaps the next PM) will be the best friend the coal industry ever had.

"Just ask the French who have numerous neighborhoods with reactors, no doubt with much of their uranium sourced in Australia."

France enjoys some independence by its re-processing of depleted uranium. Last year, France produced the least amount of uranium of any other country - just 5 tonnes whilst Australia came second to Canada with 7,600 tonnes from just 3 uranium mines.

There is now the real prospect of a resurgence in U mines operating all over this nation, encroaching on thousands of square kilometres of Australia's land mass and further contaminating our already fragile eco systems.

"Environmental Management at Australian Uranium Mines

"Ranger Mine (ERA)

"ERA has been recognised for its world-class environmental management, achieving ISO 14001 certification in 2003." How fraudulent is that?

However, a Senate Inquiry during 2003 found that ERA had a pattern of under-performance and non-compliance. This company was prosecuted last year and fined $150,000 for endangering workers' health.

In July 2006, some 100 workers were also exposed to contaminated drinking water at the Heathgate uranium mine.

The continuing propaganda by this industry is an insult to people's intelligence.

The mining of uranium is depleting other valuable resources - energy and water - particularly our precious reserves of ground water which are now seriously contaminated.

If Australia managed its population in a sustainable manner, renewable energy could become a reality and well able to service a small nation of 21 million people.

Or perhaps the pro-nukes may consider the prospect of living in close proximity to a uranium mine in the not too distant future?

Should they choose not to, they will not be protected by distance. There is much scientific evidence revealing that prevailing winds have no respect for country or creed.

Perhaps they should take a holiday in a mining area where generations of my family have resided. They could then witness the hazardous plumes from mining operations, which have the potential to travel great distances, crossing many boundaries whilst travelling on a course of ecological and environmental destruction.

I prognosticate that in the near future you will all hear more and more about nuclear power.

The health and safety record of the civil industry is exemplary; the following is extracted from the Switkowski report:

Table 6.1 of the report gives “Direct fatalities per GWe*/Year” for a number of industries. [Deaths from pollution fires or radiation accidents are excluded}.

Coal 0.876; oil 0.436; hydro 4.265 ;etc.,etc., nuclear reactors 0.006.

In other words nuclear is the safest mode of power generation available to us. While deaths from coal mines and dam failures are notorious.

The health and environmental effects from Chernobyl are described in several papers in the journal “Health Physics “volume 93, no 5 of November 2007.

Acute radiation sickness mortality 28 persons in 1986. 19 have died in the period 1987-2004 but not necessarily due to radiation.

15 deaths are recorded from the over 4000 cases of thyroid cancer.

There are of course many predicted deaths from exposure to the general population. However doses to the general population and even to most of the liquidators were low.

“Apart from the large increase in thyroid cancer incidence in young people, there are at present no clearly demonstrated radiation –related increase in cancer risk.” [Cardis E. J Radiol Prot 2006; 26:127-140].

For comparison examples of every day risks in Australia as “Risk of fatality per million person years. [Switkowski table 6.3)

Smoking 20 cigarettes /day 5000; Motoring 144; etc. Nuclear industry contribution to background radiation 0.018.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>.
Gwe= 10E9 Watts of electricity generated. Total energy in Joules =Watts x seconds. [3.15E7 seconds in a year of 365 days].

See the political scorecard, great photos, short videos, interviews, graphics and facts on weapons, wastes, water and indigenous land issues at:
http://www.VoteNuclearFree.net

Become a friend at:
http://www.myspace.com/votenuclearfree

I am sorry to keep harping on the subject, but would the anti nukes including Christinamac put "Thorium Power" into Google and then come back and tell us that nuclear energy isn't the power source of the future.

David

Nuclear is Australia's lifeline-bridge over PEAKOIL and should start now.

If Australia's yellowcake mining&exports were not making a bloody mess, both global-security wise and with radioactive wastes, and we were already building Hot-Rock-Geothermal power plants in every capital city, I too would be ANTI-NUCLEAR.

But Neither Rudd nor Howard have the guts to forego huge Uranium export income no matter the cost to Environment or global-security.
Neither do they have the WISDOM to invest in Geothermal power stations.

So, as things stand, Australia has NO CHOICE but to go Total-PBR-Nuclear-Industries.

Why go nuclear?

*Research and education is imperative to raise the proficiency of significant numbers of Australians to World standard in nuclear engineering and science. At least to the level where we become a world force in laser-based nuclear fusion technology- the power source of Stars. Remember, Whilst nuclear-fission should not be necessary for Australia, Nuclear-fusion will be critical to our much longer term future.

*To clean up the yellowcake mess with state-of-the-art, safer mining technologies(eg Colorado in-ground ore drilling&solvation) and at-site PBR enshrouding of Uranium ores

*In a chaotic PEAKOIL world where we have exported tons of Yellowcake a nuclear threat will be real. Only the hint that Australia has nuclear-programs that could include nuclear weapons would DETER future nuclear-violence. We can never control the future threat of nuclear war in a PEAKOIL scenario. Maybe if we STOP yellowcake export? But We CAN DETER nuclear attacks on Australia if we go Total-Nuclear-Industries.

Continued ..