Wednesday 26 October 2005
ABC News Online

Uranium miners say the over-regulation of yellowcake exports makes it difficult to find freight companies willing to ship the product.

Yellowcake, or uranium-oxide concentrate, from the Olympic Dam and Ranger uranium mines in the Northern Territory is exported from Port Adelaide and Darwin's East Arm Port.

The industry-funded Uranium Information Centre (UIC) says regulators define yellowcake as a hazardous material, leading to mountains of paperwork for shipping companies.

UIC manager Ian Hore-Lacey says there is no way uranium-oxide concentrate could be defined as hazardous.

"Technically it does contain radioactivity and there is a distinction between the radioactive exposure you get by handling it, and the contained quantum of radioactivity, the intrinsic radioactivity and I think that that's what the shipping regulations are based on," he said.

Mr Hore-Lacey says this definition could be dropped without any health risks.

"There would certainly be no undue problems in terms of safety or health, that much would be clear," he said.

"I mean uranium oxide is no more dangerous than lead oxide and you don't have the same restrictions on that.

"There is only the need to make sure that it gets to where it's going."