Many organisations and individuals across Australia are now sending in submissions in response to BHP Billiton’s Environmental Impact statement (EIS), to be reviewed soon by Australia’s Federal government. Final date for submissions is 7th August
Many Australians are outraged at this proposal – to create the largest man-made hole, and largest radioactive tailings waste, in the world.
Their objections include:
FAILURE TO ASSESS NO-URANIUM OPTION:
* BHP Billiton has not been required to consider mining copper, silver and gold but not uranium − an option which would allow for ongoing, profitable mining while addressing some of the major problems (namely, high-level nuclear waste problems and nuclear weapons proliferation risks associated with uranium export).
THE ROXBY DOWNS INDENTURE ACT
* The Roxby Downs Indenture Act allows wide-ranging and totally indefensible exemptions from key laws such as the SA Aboriginal Heritage Act, Environmental Protection Act 1993, Freedom of Information Act 1991 and Natural Resources Act 2004. The exemptions should be repealed and if the expansion is to proceed, the exemptions should not be extended to cover the expansion.
NUCLEAR WEAPONS PROLIFERATION RISKS
* Export of uranium is expected to increase from an average of 4,000 tonnes per year to 19,000 tonnes. In power reactors, 19,000 tonnes of uranium produces enough plutonium to build 2,850 nuclear weapons. The total amount of uranium at Olympic Dam would produce enough plutonium to build over 340,000 nuclear weapons.
* The International Atomic Energy Agency has admitted that its rights of inspection are “fairly limited” and that it operates on a “shoe-string budget comparable to a local police department”.
* The mine expansion is heavily dependant on selling uranium and a uranium-infused copper concentrate to the undemocratic, secretive, murderous and militaristic regime in China. BHP Billiton also wants to export uranium to other nuclear weapons states including Russia even though there has not been a single IAEA safeguards inspection in Russia since 2001.
RADIOACTIVE RACISM
* The Roxby Downs Indenture Act provides overrides and exemptions from the SA Aboriginal Heritage Act 1988. BHP Billiton is in a legal position to determine what consultation occurs with Traditional Owners, who is consulted, and nature of any consultation.
* BHP Billiton supports Reconciliation Australia’s ‘good governance’ program and has provided over $2 million to Reconciliation Australia, yet the company will not relinquish its exemptions from the Aboriginal Heritage Act 1988. The company’s position is hypocritical.
RADIOACTIVE WASTE
* Radioactive tailings wastes are exposed and open to the environment and currently amount to about 100 million tonnes. The tailings contain a toxic, acidic soup of radionuclides and heavy metals.
* BHP Billiton plans to increase the production of radioactive tailings waste seven-fold to 68 million tonnes annually to cover an area of up to 44 sq kms to a height of up to 65 metres. This toxic mountain is designed to leak on average 3 million litres of radioactive waste a day. BHP plans to line only 15% of the proposed tailings facility.
* There have been numerous spills and leaks and large numbers of bird deaths have been recorded in the vicinity of tailings dams. Photos taken by an Olympic Dam mine worker in December 2008 show radioactive tailings liquid leaking from the so-called rock ‘armoury’ of the so-called tailings ‘retention’ system. BHP Billiton then threatened “disciplinary action” against any worker taking photos of the mine site. The company can also restrict the release of information because of the exemptions from the Freedom of Information Act 1991.
* Overseas, Olympic Dam uranium will end up as high level nuclear waste. However no country has a permament repository for this waste let alone a better solution than dumping it in a repository. The most advanced high-level nuclear repository project was Yucca Mountain − a $10 billion fiasco that was 23 years behind schedule when the project was permanently abandoned by President Obama earlier this year.
WASTING WATER
* BHP Billiton proposes an increase in water consumption from 37 million litres daily (from the Great Artesian Basin) to over 250 million litres daily (up to 42 million litres from the Great Artesian Basin, the remainder from a proposed desalination plant near Whyalla). That’s over 100,000 litres every minute − in the driest state in the driest inhabited continent.
* The water take from the Great Artesian Basin (GAB) is a direct risk to the unique and fragile ecology of the Mound Springs that are listed as an ‘endangered ecological community’ under federal environment legislation and depend on the natural flows of water from the GAB. BHP Billiton should be required to phase out − and not to increase − extraction of GAB water.
* The Indenture Act allows BHP Billiton to extract massive and unsustainable amounts of water from the Great Artesian Basin for free despite the company’s $17.7 billion profit in 2007-08.
* BHP Billiton wants to site the proposed desalination inappropriately in the fragile and low flushing Upper Spencer Gulf, posing a threat to the breeding ground of the Giant Australian Cuttle Fish.
ELECTRICITY CONSUMPTION & GREENHOUSE EMISSIONS
* The expansion will see the mine’s electricity consumption increase over six-fold from 125MW to 775MW. BHP plans to source this from some combination of the state electricity grid, a proposed on-site gas-fired plant, and a proposed on-site plant powered by waste heat. There is no requirement for BHP Billiton to source any electricity for the mine site from renewable sources.
* Greenhouse emissions from the mine are projected to increase from 1.2 million tonnes annually to up to 5.9 million tonnes. This will make it all but impossible for SA to reach its legislated emissions target of 13 million tonnes annually by 2050.
* BHP Billiton promotes uranium as a fuel for low-carbon nuclear power but this is true only if compared to fossil fuels. Nuclear power is more greenhouse intensive than most renewable energy sources and most energy efficiency/conservation measures.
* BHP Billiton plans to increase the use of diesel at the Olympic Dam mine from 25 million litres annually to over 375 million litres annually (even more during the proposed five year construction period). The company stands to gain over $65 million annually in diesel fuel rebates − more than the company now pays in royalties to the SA government from the existing underground mine operation.
THE STING IN THE TAIL
* Water consumption, radioactive waste production, energy consumption and greenhouse emissions may all be considerably higher than the figures presented in the Draft EIS because BHP Billiton has applied for approval to extract up to 1 million tonnes of copper product a year even though the EIS only examines an expansion of up to 750,000 tonnes.
Tags: Australia, BHPB watch, nuclear secrets, uranium
