Documented false claims by the Australian Submarine Agency (ASA) about nuclear waste at the Stirling Naval Base were last night denied point blank in a public consultation forum.This is despite the ASA brochure regarding the site application in May 2024, (falsely) stating the low level waste (LLW – which needs 300 years isolation) to be stored at Stirling Naval Base is similar to radioactive waste from Hospitals:
“The low-level radioactive waste management activities are similar to those that occur in over 100 locations nationwide, including hospitals, science facilities and universities.”
This is misleading. The vast majority of nuclear waste from hospitals is very short lived waste (VSLW) or very low level waste (VLLW), both of which are disposed of in landfill after a few months storage. Indeed, in the 2021 inventory of LLW in Australia, the amount of LLW held by universities and science facilities is negligible.
False claims regarding hospital waste have been made at a number of public forums also.
In addition, at the forum it emerged the LLW waste may be stored at Stirling for up to 50 years, and there are no public plans for a long-term waste facility. This is clearly not “international best practice”, and raises concerns about stranded waste.
The ASA talks a lot about world’s best practice. Providing false information to the public in its Stirling Naval Base site application information, then denying it even did so, does not instil
confidence in ASA’s honesty or accountability.
Other major concerns relate to:
- Inadequate planning for long term management of waste, be it LLW, or the high level waste (HLW) coming in the late 2040s or early 2050s (depending on the age of the second hand Virgina Class Submarines we may – or may not – get from the US).
- Conflict of interest, given the new regulator of nuclear waste operations will report to the Defence Minister. “ The Defence Minister has a clear conflict of interests in both
regulating the submarine program and ensuring that it succeeds. If a submarine in port has a nuclear accident, the released radiation would impact significantly on social licence.