Thursday, 13th October, 2005
MAPW

The Medical Association for Prevention of War (MAPW) today condemned as scaremongering the claims by Federal MP David Tollner and Senator Scullion that the health of Australians would be in jeopardy if a nuclear waste dump was not imposed on the Northern Territory by the Federal Government.

“We are appalled by the dishonest claims by members of the Country Liberal Party linking the nuclear waste dump to the health of Australians,” said Dr Sue Wareham, immediate past president for MAPW.

“While it is a health issue, this is more about endangering the health of Australians than protecting it.”

This week the Federal Government has introduced new legislation which would force a nuclear dump on states or territories regardless of opposition from community or state parliaments and which would override countless other state and Commonwealth legal mechanisms, including indigenous concerns.

“It is clear that there is pressure on because the Federal Government want an operating licence for the new reactor in Sydney,” continued Dr Wareham. “But the fact that the new reactor was granted a construction licence before the conditions of an operating licence were fulfilled makes a farce of the whole process.”

One of the key conditions for the operating licence is the establishment of a viable waste management plan.

“If the government was serious about protecting the health of Australians they would be investing in the development of non-reactor technologies for the production of isotopes, so that we would not have this vast and growing nuclear waste problem.”

MAPW released a comprehensive report on the issue of the new reactor which was released in August 2004. This report argues simply that the medical need for a new reactor is a myth.

A New Clear Direction: Securing Nuclear Medicine for the Next Generation examines the important role played by Australia's nuclear medicine sector but clearly outlines why the planned new reactor is not needed. It highlights the growth in non-reactor based medical technology and how alternative production and sourcing options which should be developed to ensure secure access to nuclear medicines. It offers a way ahead for a world-class nuclear medicine sector without the serious security, environmental, cost or radioactive waste impacts of having a nuclear reactor in the suburbs of our largest city.

Link: www.mapw.org.au