Anti-nuclear push to visit SA, NT sites
Monday, 24 July, 2006
ABC NT Local News
The tour, run by Friends of the Earth, will visit radioactive waste tailings sites - the Olympic Dam mine in South Australia - and possible radioactive dump sites near Alice Springs.
One of the campaigners, Michaela Stubbs, says the incident at the Beverley mine, in north-eastern South Australia, highlights the danger of the uranium industry.
"This is just another incident in a long history of leaks and spills. These happen regularly and in this case it was extremely unfortunate that those workers were exposed to drinking water that was contaminated by radioactive substances," she said.
Last Thursday, a weak solution of uranium was accidentally put into one of the Beverley mine's desalination units by a worker during cleaning.
About 100 workers had access to contaminated water for about three hours and tests revealed the water contained more uranium than guidelines allow.
The company that runs the mine, Heathgate Resources, says it is confident workers exposed to the water will not suffer any ill effects.