Govt must reveal any safety breaches in Illawarra loading of nuclear waste

"The NSW government must lift its shroud of secrecy over the transportation of nuclear waste through Wollongong's suburbs following reports today of at least two safety breaches while loading the nuclear waste at Port Kembla", said Ms Rhiannon (Illawarra Mercury, 17/3/2009, p1).

"The Greens are calling on the Minister for Ports and the Minister for Emergency Services to the to reveal whether any safety incident reports have been filed about Sunday night's operation and the details of those reports.

"The people of the Illawarra have a right to know about any potential safety breaches that occurred in the transportation and loading of nuclear waste in their community.

"The reported incidents occurred during the loading of the nuclear waste at Port Kembla and involved the ship transporting the waste rolling sharply and unexpectedly towards the jetty under the weight of the first of the containers and truck movements causing a container to bang against its side and possibly hit the ground.

"These incidents are potentially disastrous, involving containers of toxic nuclear waste close to a populated suburban area.

"The Greens estimate that the NSW government spent $240,000 on this operation.

"More than 400 police and RTA crews were involved in locking down roads along the transport route and monitoring the loading of the nuclear waste under the cover of darkness.

"Transporting the shipment through Wollongong's suburbs was incredibly irresponsible and highly dangerous.

"The Greens will raise this matter in parliament next week if the NSW government fails to make public any incident report arising from the transportation and loading of toxic nuclear waste.

"The NSW government must be open and held to account for how this highly dangerous material is managed during the transportation and loading process", said Ms Rhiannon.

Contact: Greens MP Lee Rhiannon 9230 3551, 0427 861 568