"We will fight to protect our Country. That is a fact of life."
Yvonne Margarula, Mirrar Senior Traditional Owner


Djarr Djarr
More contempt for the rights and safety of Aboriginal people

Name: Djarr Djarr
Location: Kakadu National Park, Oenpelli Road, approx.18 kms east of Jabiru. Contained within the Jabiluka Mineral Lease.
Operator: Pancontinental initially, then ERA.
Traditional and Rightful Owners: Members of the Mirrar Clan and their Families.
Pollutants: Uranium and its radioactive decay products(incl. Radon gas). Scrap metal, plastic, glass and other miscellaneous industrial wastes.
PHOTOS - stu

 

- click on photos for enlarged view -

The compound at Djarr Djarr consists of several sheds in various stages of disrepair. Some sheds are locked... some are not. The absence of living vegetation in the immediate vicinity is very marked.
Adjacent wetlands at Djarr Djarr Billabong. Flooding in the wet season poses a very real threat to the structural integrity of the storage sheds. The site has been essentially abandoned by the operators.
Inside these sheds core samples from mining and exploration are kept. There is also a variety of old rubbish, including medical sample pots, mine lights and measurement equipment.
On most of the sheds only a rusty lock and small padlock prevents entry. Each shed carries a Danger Radioactive Material sign. Inside rows and rows of radioactive core samples are stacked.
This open shed contains core samples in racks exposed to the air. Another rack is stacked on the ground. The overall state of this "storage facility" is appalling.


The Djarr Djarr Billabong connects to the much larger Magela Creek System: the traditional hunting and fishing area of the Mirrar. These wetlands are very delicate ecosystems, readily ravaged by the bioaccumulation of toxic radionuclides up the food chain.

ERA can't clean up Djarr Djarr some 30 years after exploration. What hope will they have cleaning up the current disaster that is the Ranger uranium mine and the proposed new mine at Jabiluka?

 

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