7 December 2013 Australian Greens Senator Scott Ludlam

Ageing Ranger Uranium mine should close: Greens

The Australian Greens have called for an indefinite suspension of operations at the Ranger Uranium Mine in Kakadu National Park after a serious accident overnight. A thousand tonnes of highly acidic radioactive slurry has spilled into the central processing area of the plant, miraculously causing no immediate injuries as workers were evacuated shortly before a leaching tank burst. It is not known at this stage how much of the radioactive leachate has left the mine boundary. It is hard to imagine a worse time for Environment Minister Greg Hunt to be deregulating the uranium sector and leaving it to the States and Territories, Australian Greens Senator Scott Ludlam said today. This is an industry that demands much tighter regulation as we go down the path to permanently phasing it out. The writing has been on the wall at Ranger for a long time: this disaster may well be the last nail in this accident-prone mine. The Greens have backed the call from Traditional Owners for a full audit of the plant facilities. There are a number of these ageing leach tanks on site: the company should immediately disclose whether they are in similar condition to the one that fell apart overnight, Senator Ludlam concluded. For media enquiries Chris Redman on 0418 401 180