December 02, 2015

Australia, France Don?t Agree on Aussie Waste Designation

By ExchangeMonitor

French and Australian officials have reportedly given different classifications to 10 metric tons of radioactive waste aboard a ship scheduled to dock this week in Sydney. The BBC Shanghai is carrying the material back from France, where it underwent reprocessing.

While France has classified the cargo as high-level waste, the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organization has designated it as intermediate-level waste, according to an investigation by Greenpeace Australia Pacific. The environmental group also said the material still contains some plutonium. It is raising concerns that the Australian government’s lack of transparency concerning the storage of nuclear waste could severely impact long-term environmental health in the nation.

“The fact France has classified this as high-level waste should send alarm bells ringing about what is actually coming back to Australia,” said Emma Gibson, Greenpeace Australia Pacific’s head of programs, in a press release. “The French have significantly more experience in handling nuclear waste than Australia does. That the two countries could have such different views on how dangerous this nuclear waste is should be a huge concern.”

The Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organization had not responded to a request for comment by press time. But in a Twitter response to Greenpeace, the agency said, “According to an international standard established by [the International Atomic Energy Agency], the waste is classified as ‘intermediate level waste.’”

The Australian government is considering locations to build its first permanent storage site for low- and intermediate-level nuclear waste. Officials have narrowed the list of potential sites to six: Sallys Flat in New South Wales; Hale in the Northern Territory; Cortlinye, Pinkawillinie, and Barndioota, all in South Australia; and Oman Ama in Queensland.

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