Friday, 20 April, 2007

Sydney Morning Herald

Anti-nuclear protesters plan to target Prime Minister John Howard on Friday at the opening of a new reactor at Australia's only nuclear facility.

Mr Howard is expected to open the new Opal reactor at the atomic medicine and research plant at Sydney's Lucas Heights.

Activists plan to stage a protest at the facility to highlight what they describe as the radioactive legacy of the reactor.

"We are displaying a six-metre-long mock radioactive waste transport castor to remind John Howard of the ongoing thorn in the nuclear industry's backside, the problem of nuclear waste," the Friends of the Earth group said in a statement.

The Australian Conservation Foundation said the reactor was unnecessary and unsafe.

"A brand new radioactive waste-producing terrorist target is the last thing greater Sydney needs right now," ACF nuclear campaigner Dave Sweeney said.

The Opal reactor is in its final stages of commissioning and replaces an old reactor which will be decommissioned over the next 13 years.

Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) spokeswoman Sharon Kelly said the new reactor would open endless opportunities for medical research.

The reactor would help scientists develop new medicines for cancer treatment and learn more about food storage, she said.

It will not be used to produce nuclear power, which the federal government believes will play a role in Australia's future energy supply.

Mr Howard has used debate over atomic energy this year to highlight divisions within Labor about uranium mining and enrichment, and to try to gain the upper hand on climate change.

Waste from the Opal reactor will be stored in a remote location in the Northern Territory, where the government is finalising a preferred site.

Neither ANSTO nor the prime minister's office would confirm Mr Howard's involvement but it is understood he will attend.

The International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA) Deputy Director General for Nuclear Science and Applications, Professor Werner Burkart, will also attend the opening to speak about nuclear solutions.

The opening of the reactor comes just a week ahead of Labor's national conference where the ALP will try to settle strong divisions on the future of uranium mining.