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Australian uranium mining company secretive about radioactive leaks in National Park

water with uranium concentrations 5400 times background and a cocktail of other radionuclides leaking from the tailings dam at Ranger.

ERA fails to come clean on Ranger uranium leak Scott Ludlam  21st April 2010,  Ranger Uranium Mine Energy Resources of Australia (ERA) has failed to come clean with shareholders and the people of the Northern Territory about the contaminated water leaking from the Ranger uranium mine in Kakadu National Park during today’s Annual General Meeting in Darwin.

“It beggars believe that ERA has opted for a business as usual approach by dismissing official figures on the extent of the problem and refusing to outline a plan to remediate the site,” said Senator Scott Ludlam, Greens spokesperson on nuclear issues

.”The company rejected as ‘irrelevant’ data from the Office of the Supervising Scientist (OSS) showing water with uranium concentrations 5400 times background and a cocktail of other radionuclides leaking from the tailings dam at Ranger.”They say their own ‘unpublicised’ monitoring picked up only 10 times background level. Even if we believe this underestimate, how can that not be of great concern?”ERA has also failed locals by ruling out monitoring the health of people around the mine site who could well be already impacted by the contamination.”Shareholders and Territorians should be disappointed the company has put commercial interests above transparency and accountability.”The Northern Territory Government should now seriously reconsider its policy of expanding uranium mining and disallow plans for a heap leach facility at Kakadu,” Senator Ludlam said.

ERA fails to come clean on Ranger uranium leak | Greens MPs

April 22, 2010 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | AUSTRALIA, secrets,lies and civil liberties | antinuclear, AUSTRALIA, nuclear, radiation, reactors, uranium