❓ Hon Robin Chapple questions the safety of the Tellus Holdings Sandy Ridge project, particularly regarding radioactivity leaks, given construction has commenced before a detailed safety review. The Minister's response outlines a staged approval process and assurances regarding low-level waste and decay.
AnsweredQoN 122Legislative Council
QuestionView source ↗
TELLUS HOLDINGS — SANDY RIDGE PROJECT
122. Hon ROBIN CHAPPLE to the parliamentary secretary
representing the Minister for Health:
I refer to question without notice
52 that I asked of the Minister for Health on Thursday, 14 February 2019, about
the Tellus Holdings Ltd's Sandy Ridge project.
(1) As
construction has now commenced at the site without the detailed safety review,
as the minister mentioned in his reply, can the minister assure the Western Australian
public that the project is absolutely safe, that all radiation baseline
monitoring has been undertaken and that there will be absolutely no
radioactivity leaks of any kind in the near, intermediate or distant—10
000 years' time—future?
(2) If yes to
(1), can the minister provide all technical grounds and justifications for his
opinion, especially modelling of the behaviour of all radionuclides to be
disposed at the facility for the next 10 000 to 100 000 years?
(3) If no to (2), why has a project
that has not been determined to be safe been allowed to proceed?
122. Hon ROBIN CHAPPLE to the parliamentary secretary
representing the Minister for Health:
I refer to question without notice
52 that I asked of the Minister for Health on Thursday, 14 February 2019, about
the Tellus Holdings Ltd's Sandy Ridge project.
(1) As
construction has now commenced at the site without the detailed safety review,
as the minister mentioned in his reply, can the minister assure the Western Australian
public that the project is absolutely safe, that all radiation baseline
monitoring has been undertaken and that there will be absolutely no
radioactivity leaks of any kind in the near, intermediate or distant—10
000 years' time—future?
(2) If yes to
(1), can the minister provide all technical grounds and justifications for his
opinion, especially modelling of the behaviour of all radionuclides to be
disposed at the facility for the next 10 000 to 100 000 years?
(3) If no to (2), why has a project
that has not been determined to be safe been allowed to proceed?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the honourable member for
some notice of the question. I am advised as follows.
(1) The project
is being approved in a staged process and the works occurring now at the site
are those for which approvals have been assessed and granted.
(2)–(3) The
plan is for the site to be in receipt of low-level radioactive waste only, and
it is a requirement of approval that containment and shielding be provided
until radioactive decay has significantly reduced the hazard due to
radioactivity. Most of the radioactive isotopes that will be considered for
approval at the site will have half-lives that will ensure that the material is
not radioactive after 300 years.
some notice of the question. I am advised as follows.
(1) The project
is being approved in a staged process and the works occurring now at the site
are those for which approvals have been assessed and granted.
(2)–(3) The
plan is for the site to be in receipt of low-level radioactive waste only, and
it is a requirement of approval that containment and shielding be provided
until radioactive decay has significantly reduced the hazard due to
radioactivity. Most of the radioactive isotopes that will be considered for
approval at the site will have half-lives that will ensure that the material is
not radioactive after 300 years.
Explore WA Government Data
Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.
Explore more
Government Gazette
Appointments, regulatory notices, planning changes.
Hansard
Debates, questions, speeches and sentiment.
Tabled Papers
Reports and documents tabled in Parliament.
Committees
Committee profiles and recent reports.
Regulations
Subsidiary legislation with filters and summaries.
Bills
Proposed laws and parliamentary progress.
Acts
Current WA legislation and summaries.
Explanatory Memoranda
Bills with EMs (text/PDF) available.
Members
MP profiles, party breakdown and rankings.
Pollie Rankings
Data-driven rankings across 19 categories.
Amendment Chains
Track how schemes and regulations evolve over time.