Letter to the editor of The Canberra Times..... Saturday, 22 April, 2000 Maralinga clean-up report a whitewash I HAVE long been an advocate for a strong nuclear regulatory organisation. For example, I drafted the 1981 report for the National Energy Advisory Committee: "Nuclear Power in Australia; Regulation and Control, NEAC Report No 16". So I was delighted at the formation of the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA) last year. However, when I saw the ARPANSA media release of April 17, I could only shake my head in wonderment. The first paragraph of that release says "Claims that the clean-up of Maralinga is not to world best practice are not well founded." Is Dr Loy saying that a hole in the ground, without any treatment or lining is world best practice? That isn't even world best practice for disposal of household garbage, let alone a long-lived hazardous substance such as plutonium. I then noticed a media release from Senator Minchin, also on April 17, which said, "I am advised by ARPANSA that the amount of plutonium buried at Maralinga is less than what is allowed for in the Code." The "code" referred to is Code of Practice for the Near-surface Disposal of Radioactive Waste in Australia (1992). Nowhere does that document specify any limit on the amount of plutonium that can be buried, even if the code was applicable. As with his other releases about Maralinga, the remainder of the senator's release is a collection of half stories the halves which suit his ill-founded case. Also in his media release, the senator seeks to discredit me. Might I suggest that he would be better served if he turned his attention to the quality of advice he is receiving? ALAN PARKINSON Weetangera -- _________________________________ Truth is a pathless land. --- Krishnamurti ------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------ RecOzNet2 has a page @ http://www.green.net.au/recoznet2 and is archived at http://www.mail-archive.com/ To unsubscribe from this list, mail [EMAIL PROTECTED], and in the body of the message, include the words: unsubscribe announce or click here mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20announce This posting is provided to the individual members of this group without permission from the copyright owner for purposes of criticism, comment, scholarship and research under the "fair use" provisions of the Federal copyright laws and it may not be distributed further without permission of the copyright owner, except for "fair use." RecOzNet2 is archived for members @ http://www.mail-archive.com/recoznet2%40paradigm4.com.au/
