THE bogging of a semi-trailer loaded with uranium oxide, or yellowcake, in Kakadu National Park has highlighted the danger of transporting the dangerous material long distances by road, conservationists say.

None of the material, contained in 44-gallon (200-litre) drums in two shipping containers, leaked when the semi-trailer bogged on the side of the Arnhem Highway on Wednesday as the driver pulled over to let a truck pass about 20 kilometres from the long-troubled Ranger uranium mine.

But Dave Sweeney, nuclear campaigner for the Australian Conservation Foundation, said the incident showed the dangers associated not only with the Ranger mine but also the federal government's proposal to build Australia's first national nuclear waste dump on a remote cattle station 120 kilometres north of Tennant Creek in central Australia.

"This is a wake-up call for federal Resources Minister Martin Ferguson, who appears to be hellbent on pushing the Muckaty proposal," Mr Sweeney said.

Under the proposal, radioactive waste from major cities will be transported thousands of kilometres to the dump on Muckaty Station. The waste has been accumulating for more than 50 years.

A dump at Muckaty would also mean radioactive waste that Australia sent overseas would be transported from Darwin port overland to Muckaty. Under an international agreement, the waste must be returned to Australia in 2015 and 2016.

Mr Sweeney said the release three days before Christmas of the report of a parliamentary inquiry into the feasibility of Muckaty was a cynical attempt to avoid public scrutiny of the proposal, which has bitterly divided Aboriginal traditional owners in the area.

"This inquiry had no public input, only took evidence from the project's proponents and failed to provide procedural fairness to affected landowners," he said.

Mr Sweeney said the National Waste Management Bill, which the House of Representatives recommended be passed, removed the appeal rights from the Muckaty community, suspended key indigenous and environmental protections and overrode all federal, state and territory laws.

"It is not based on good science and does not follow a robust, open, transparent process," he said.

An interim finding in a Federal Court challenge to the Muckaty proposal is expected to be announced later this month.

Mr Sweeney said the incident involving the semi-trailer transporting yellowcake from Ranger to Darwin for export showed that the ageing mine had "hit the point of diminished return and increased environmental impact in the world heritage-listed Kakadu park".

Energy Resources of Australia has announced plans to expand its operation at the mine despite being dogged by operational problems, including unresolved seepage from the tailings dam and delays in establishing methods to handle contaminated water.

"ERA should not be permitted to prolong this unacceptable situation by constructing a new mine tunnel or fast-tracking the unproven and polluting acid-heap-leach method of processing waste rock," Mr Sweeney said.

ERA denied there was any risk of spill from the bogged semi-trailer.