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Dump World's Nuclear Waste In Australia, Says Ex-PM Hawke

Posted by Soulskill on from the just-wants-mutant-kangaroos dept.

mdsolar writes: "[Former Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke said] Australia bore a responsibility to assist with the safe disposal of radioactive waste, given the ample space the country possesses. 'If Australia has – as we do – the safest remote locations for storing the world's nuclear waste, we have a responsibility to make those sites available for this purpose,' he said. Hawke based this conclusion on a 25-year-old report made by Ralph Slayter, whom the former prime minister appointed as Australia's first chief scientist back in 1989. According to Slayter's report, some of the remote reaches of the Northern Territory and Western Australia could provide apt dumping grounds for radioactive waste."

7 of 213 comments (clear)

  1. Mutants! by burisch_research · · Score: 5, Funny

    Radioactive waste + the majority of the world's most dangerous species = ... ? Godzilla? Hundred metre diameter spiders? Snakes the size of the great wall of China?

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    1. Re:Mutants! by kylemonger · · Score: 5, Interesting

      In the face of hard radiation life gets smaller, not larger. Expect really hardy bacteria, not giant reptiles.

  2. Commodity of the future by Scottingham · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Australia sees that the 'waste' is actually >95% fertile material, i.e. fissionable FUEL.

    "Yes, yes, we will take all of your...waste...all your energy are belong to us!"

  3. Heh. by TWX · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I don't think I want to leave the world's nuclear problem On The Beach...

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    Do not look into laser with remaining eye.
  4. remote doesn't equal secure by spineboy · · Score: 5, Interesting

    While having a remote storage location is iseal for minimizing fallout risks, having an area that is sparsely seen y people can have security risks. It may be prone to terrorist type invasions, looking for dirty bomb material. I'm still not sure why a Nevada military type storage facility at Yucca mountain was blocked. - Guess NIMBY applies, even if your nearest neighbor is 200 miles away.

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    1. Re:remote doesn't equal secure by Charliemopps · · Score: 5, Informative

      Nevada's got a fair number of fault lines. I know there was a lot of politics involved in Yucca mountain, but I do know that there are a number of real concerns in regards to fault lines and similar.

      Real concerns? No...

      There was a fault line discovered after the site was built. But it did not run under the storage facility. It an under a nearby area where waste was supposed to cool before storage. They moved this cooling area to avoid the fault line. There are earthquakes in the area, there are everywhere... Also keep in mind, the size of the seismic activity needed to harm the facility in any way would have to be so large that any hazardous waste leak that resulted from it would be more of an afterthought compared to the destruction from the quake itself.

  5. You mean we didn't already do this? by gurps_npc · · Score: 5, Funny

    I thought that was the explanation for all the crazy animals, half of which can kill you.

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