X  AUSTRALIA,.,'- MINISTER FOR RESOURCES AND ENERGY   SENATOR GARETH EVANS Q.C. 31 March 1987

.  27/87

PROGRESS ON NUCLEAR NON-PROLIFERATION

The major elements of legislation to give effect to

obligations, and to place strict controls on all nuclear

materials and associated items in this country, have been

proclaimed to come into effect today.

The Nuclear Non-Proliferation (Safegauards)  Act 1987 is an

important demonstration of the Government's commitment to

preventing the further spread of nuclear weapons and

working toward disarmament.

The object of the Act is to give legislative effect to

relevant obligations under :

.  the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty;  -

.  Australia's safeguards agreement with the International

Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA);

.  Australia's bilateral nuclear safeguards agreements

with 10 individual countries and the European

Community's nuclear agency Euratom, and

.  the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear

Material (to be ratified by Australia in the near

future).

The Act will bring all nuclear material - defined as

uranium, plutonium and thorium - and associated items in

Australia under strict control in furtherance of the

Government's non-proliferation policies. A system of

permits is established for the possession and transport of

nuclear material and other physical items such as

equipment and material used in nuclear reactors.

Australia's international nuclear non-proliferation

2

The Act also deals with the possession and communication

of sensitive information about nuclear technology.

Information in this category is carefully defined so as to

avoid unnecessary restrictions, and essentially is

confined to information directly applicable to

proliferation-sensitive stages of the nuclear fuel cycle,

such as enrichment and reprocessing, and the design of

nuclear weapons.

Certain portions of the Act will not come into operation

today, ie:  those relating to the Convention on the

Physical Protection of Nuclear Material, which will be

brought into force when the Convention is ratified, and

those which create offences relating to permits and

authorities under the Act, which will be proclaimed in

about six months time. Thus there will be a period of

grace to allow those possessing nuclear items to obtain

the necessary permits and authorities.

The legislation will be administered by the Australian

Safeguards Office (ASO) which is part of the Department of

Resources and Energy. Most organisations, companies and

individuals having material or items in their possession

which may fall within the ambit of the Act will already

have been contacted by the ASO. Others should get in touch

with ASO as soon as possible and ASO will supply them with

the necessary application forms and, provided applications

are lodged promptly, will ensure that permits and

authorities are granted before the offence provisions come

into operation.

The Australian Safeguards Office will be happy to assist

with any queries in relation to the operation of the Act.

The address of the Australian Safeguards Office is PO Box

KX 261, Kings Cross, NSW, 2011, telephone (02) 358-6255.

* * * * * .Â·

CANBERRA

30 MARCH jVBl  26/81

JOINT PRESS RELEASE Â»Y SENATOR GARETH EVANS, MINISTER TOR

RESOURCES AND ENERGY;  AND MR BARRY COHEN, MINISTER TOR ARTS,

HERITAGE AND ENVIRONMENT

Ranger m ine w a t e r m a n a g e m e n t

The Government is totally committed to ensuring the complete  environmental protection ot the lekadu National Perk and  guaranteeing that it is not damaged in any way by the Manger

uranium Mining operation.

The Government has now decided upon a plan oi action tor  the l o n g s t a n d i n g  problem oi water aanageaent at the Manger  Mine which should aake unnecessary the need to consider  release of water ot any kind from the mine's restricted

release tone (RRl) in the foreseeable future.

The Government haÂ· considered A Technical Working Group's  report on water aanageaent for the Manger uranium mine but  la not satisfied that any of the options canvassed in that  report is fully acceptable.

The Government has dÂ«cld*di

. to refuse permission for the release ot any water from

the mine this y ear )

.  to requite Ranger to proceed immediately to deepen, by

the end of 1987, the existing retention pond (RP2)r and

. to instruct the Supervising Scientist tor the Alligator  Rivers Region, in consultation with Manger, to develop  practicable and environmentally acceptable options aimed  at ensuring that Ranger water management is fully  consistent with protection ot the environment.

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I'llÂ·1  rechn i v a  1 W o r k i n g  ÃÂÃÂ¯ o v p  ÃÂ¹ ÃÂ¯>/0  I , c o m p r i s i n g

cepietentativeÂ» froÂ» the 0(flce ol the Supervising  Scientist, the Northern Territory Government end the Ran ger   U i a n  urn Nine, wet set up by thv Minister fo r Arts, Herita ge   and Environment in 1985 to tepoii upon beet Hracticable  Technology (BPT) for the management of the M i n e ’s

accumulations of run-off water (not tailings or process  water, which is separately contained). ,*

In teaching Its decision the Government has close regard net  only to the scientific and technical iasues considered In  _ the TWO Report, but also to the range of social and other

issues addressed in the Report el the House of  Representatives Standing committee on Rnvlronment and  Conservation, Ranger Cranium Water Management System, tabled

in the House of Representatives on 1$ October 1966. The  Government alio took fully Into account the views of the  , Northern Land Council, and concernÂ· that have been expressed  by other community groups about the release ot mine water.

Three options for the management of Renget run-off water  were considered in detail by the TWO, These involved,  subject In each case to a full chemical and biological  control regime, probabilities of release of:

. "2 years in 5* (involving no additional storage),

. "1 year in 10" (involving the deepening of RP2), and

, *1 year in 50Â· (involving the construction, over the nest 2 years, of a new 30-40 hi storage pond).

The TWO concluded, and the Government agrees, that the third  C o r  l year in 50Â·) option is environmentally unacceptable  in the form in which it has so fat been proposed: it would

Involve the construction ot another large and unsightly  evaporation pond, of approximately 30-40 ha in else, which  would itself cause environmental diiege through erosion and  siltation, and sake still more difficult the task of

rahahllltaiihg the mine site after alnlng operations have  Ceased.

5

A t u c t hi-1 probJ el* with this ojilion is that the new pond

vould take at least two dry season* to construct, nuking

eilremsly likely the necessity of. some water releesÂ·

occurring in the n**t wet t e n o n .

The TWG identified the ”2 years in 5" option si 1RT (subject  to social considerations), end site endorsed as  scientifically end technically sound, although in its view  unnecessary, the “1 year in 10* option.

The Ooverneent, after considering not only scientific end  technical issues but eleo the social factors which ere a  necessary component of PhT, has decided that no eyetee which  involveÂ· the probability of water release nearly every

second year is appropriate, end that kengcr should be  required to enlarge its existing storage to reduce this  probability, at least in the fleet Instance, to one year in  "ten. This excavation can be accomplished during the

forthcoming dry eeeaon, with the new systeÂ· being in place  by the 19B7-8B wet.

The Government will not perait any of the water presently in  hP2 to be discharged to the vugels Creek, this year's vet  season, now effectively over, has not been heavy, and It  will be possible ~ tor the purposes of excavation - to drain  any remaining water in 6P2 into the tailings dna.

At the same time the Oovernaent hat decided that another  major effort should be made to develop further practicable  options aimed at reducing to a still greater degree the need  for water release ever to be considered.

A number of complex factors and inter-relationships will  need to be considered end evaluated, involving the possible  extended wee of Spray irrigation, discharge into the  tailingÂ· dam, temporary interruption of mining through  discharging overflow into the mine pit, and construction -

if that is possible - of non-envitonaenielly damaging  additional storage.

CANDURnA

