Another election will come and go without a Federal Government decision on the national site for a radioactive waste dump. This will delay the removal of about 6000 drums of low level waste and other materials from ANSTO at Lucas Heights and radioactive wastes from other Commonwealth sites.

 

A national repository would also house waste arising from liquids produced in the manufacture of nuclear medicines

 

Just before the 2004 election, the Federal Government ditched potential sites in South Australia because the matter was sensitive in vulnerable seats.

 

 The decision wasted tens of millions of taxpayers' money, which had been spent on an exhaustive, decade-long search for the most suitable sites in the country for a repository.

 

The Government has since chosen three sites on Commonwealth land in the Northern Territory and carried out environmental and heritage studies.

 

 But last Thursday, Science Minister Julie Bishop applied the brakes again, saying a site offered by the traditional owners of Muckaty Station, near Tennant Creek, has now been added to the list.

 

It is expected that months of study will be necessary to ascertain its suitability, taking a decision well past the federal election.

 

In addition to the radioactive waste at Lucas Heights, shipments of higher-level wastes from facilities in France and Scotland that reprocess ANSTO nuclear reactor fuel rods are due to return to Australia from 2011.

 

This and previous governments have promised that reprocessing waste, which Australia is contractually obliged to accept, would not return to Lucas Heights.

 

But if the long-promised and deferred national dump is not established before they begin returning, the alternatives would be Lucas Heights or large payments to the storage facilities at La Hague in France and Dounreay in Scotland.

 

Sutherland Shire Council wants removal of the radioactive wastes, which have built up at Lucas Heights since the former Australian Atomic Energy Commission began operations there in the mid-1950s.