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It comes after
a spill of 60,000 litres of radioactive liquid at the mine last Friday,
caused by a computer malfunction.
A spokesperson for acting Energy Minister Rob Lucas says some of the
spills have been minor, but three have been more than 2,000 litres.
The Government says the reporting process needs to be independently
reviewed to make it more publicly transparent.
| Closure The Federal Opposition wants the mine to be closed immediately, until an investigation into the spill is completed. Acting Environment Minister Amanda Vanstone claims the Commonwealth has no role and it is up to the South Australian Government to respond to the spill. Labor's Environment spokesman, Kelvin Thomson, says the Federal Government can intervene, having the power to review the conditions for exporting uranium. He says it is a serious spill and there has to be an investigation, not done by the mining company. "An independent investigation [is needed], one which establishes the causes for the leak and one which assures the public that we won't have some further problem like this occurring in the future," he said. Mr Thomson says the Government is wrong to claim it has no role in responding to the spill. "It can review, set and change conditions concerning uranium mining export," he said. "It should be using those powers to protect the public interest in this case by shutting down the mine immediately and carrying out an independent, comprehensive investigation." Operators The mine operators say the radioactive water burst from a pipe in the mine on Friday night during a routine maintenance operation, and up to 4,000 litres of the liquid escaped from the plant. Heathgate Resources vice-president Stephen Middleton says inspectors should have a report to the South Australian government today. Mr Middleton says he believes the department representatives were satisfied with how the spill was handled. "They were shown over the entire area that was affected [and] they were given a run-through on what we believed happened," he said. "They inspected the failed piece of piping and they had a look at the area that was covered during the spill and they inspected the measures that were taken to minimise impact." Govt denies cover-up Meanwhile, the South Australian Government has denied attempting to cover-up the latest spill. The government did not release a statement about the incident until 24 hours after it occurred, and did not confirm the liquid contained uranium until two hours after that. The state Opposition has accused the government and Heathgate of conspiring to minimise bad publicity surrounding the spill. Acting Minister for Minerals and Energy Rob Lucas says the government has become the victim of unreasonable criticism. Premier Rob Kerin says the government notified the public as soon as possible. Heathgate Resources also disputes allegations of a cover-up. The Environment Protection Authority says it has not been officially informed of the incident, but expects a full report on the spill from Heathgate Resources today. Environmental impact Environmental groups are demanding the mine be shutdown until an independent inquiry into the spill is completed. Dave Sweeney, from the Australian Conservation Foundation, says the plant is dangerous. He says the in situ leaching method of extracting uranium is not allowed in any other western countries. "The only places where it has been used in the past are in the former east block countries in particular East Germany and Bulgaria and in those countries it was responsible for very significant and continuing contamination including contamination of groundwater," he said. Heathgate Resources says radioactive readings show the site is safe. The Conservation Council of South Australia estimates that 13 kilograms of uranium and two and a half kilograms of cadmium dust escaped during the leak. Nuclear issues spokesman for the Conservation Council Dr Denis Mathews says the radioactive liquid would have turned to dust and could have been ingested or inhaled. Dr Mathews says mining should not be allowed to resume until a thorough investigation has been completed. |
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