Low-level radioactive waste generated by nuclear-powered submarines stationed in Perth could be stored elsewhere, WA's Premier says, despite new documents revealing plans for a local waste facility.
Key points:
- The ABC has revealed AUKUS nuclear waste will be stored at HMAS Stirling
- WA's Premier believes it could still be sent elsewhere
- Experts say they aren't overly concerned, but community perception may be negative
Federal government AUKUS briefing notes obtained by the ABC reveal details of a nuclear waste storage facility being planned as part of general infrastructure works at the HMAS Stirling defence base on Garden Island, south of Perth.
The notes, made public through a Freedom of Information application, say the radioactive material will at least be temporarily stored in WA from 2027.
But WA Premier Roger Cook said where the waste ultimately goes remained unclear.
"Around the issue of low-level radioactive waste, well obviously we have significant capability in that, particularly in South Australia, but that will be an issue that will be decided into the future," he told reporters on Monday.
Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said any plans for a nuclear waste management facility in Western Australia wouldn't be popular among the community.
"Australians are vehemently opposed to nuclear waste being stored in Australia, in particular international nuclear waste," she said.
"We know the South Australian community have been very opposed to this for a long time, our cousins in WA are not going to look on this fondly, either."
A South Australian government spokesperson said it would listen to advice on the best place to store the waste.
"Building nuclear-powered submarines is an endeavour undertaken in the national interest," the spokesperson said.
"Any decision on storing of waste should also be made in the national interest, based upon science, not based upon interstate parochialism."
How will AUKUS work?
The AUKUS deal, inked earlier this year, will see US and UK nuclear-powered submarines stationed at HMAS Stirling from 2027.
Loading...It's part of a long-term plan to pivot Australia's submarine fleet to nuclear power to shore up the regional might of the alliance in the Asia Pacific.
Proponents of nuclear-power submarines point out they don't require refuelling and can sustain longer deployments.
But the question of what to do with the nuclear waste is an ongoing debate, with a dedicated national agency to manage the subs only created in July.
A bill to set up an independent regulator to oversee safety was introduced last month.
Ongoing maintenance of the subs will generate low-level radioactive waste that is less sensitive as it cannot be weaponised without significant other facilities in place.
However when nuclear-powered subs are decommissioned it will create intermediate and high-level waste that will need to be closely managed as it is weapons-grade material.
Federal government plans for a dump near the South Australian town of Kimba were scrapped earlier this year after traditional owners, the Barngarla people, mounted a Federal Court challenge.
Is there any cause for concern?
Griffith University emeritus professor Ian Lowe said low-level radioactive waste was usually relatively benign but communities have historically rejected proposals to store it in their region.
"We still have no system for managing our low-level radioactive waste let alone the much more intractable waste from nuclear submarines," he said.
"I wouldn't be particularly concerned about low-level waste, because if that's under a couple of metres of earth the radiation at the surface isn't much more than the background radiation to which we're all exposed.
"What I would be worried about is that this might be the forerunner to a proposal to store the used reactors from nuclear submarines there, and that's very nasty waste that I certainly would not want either in my backyard or within 20 kilometres of where I live."
Professor Lowe, also a past president of the Australian Conservation Foundation, said once the most recent proposal to store low-level radioactive waste at Kimba in South Australia, the federal government then said it would be used to store intermediate-level waste.
"If I were in the environs of this proposal in Western Australia I'd be worried that the same thing might happen," professor Lowe said.
University of Western Australia's Defence and Security Institute's Dr Troy Lee-Brown said the addition of foreign nuclear-powered subs at Garden Island did not paint a target on Perth.
"(HMAS Stirling) is one of Australia's largest, if not largest naval bases, home to half our surface fleet and our submarine fleet,' Dr Lee-Brown said.
"US submarines have been coming to Perth, Western Australia for decades now.
"Perth was home to a submarine base and World War II, and the submarine base at Garden Island has been there since the 1980s."
He said people in south-east Asia would be watching on with interest.
"I think Australia's got to do a good job in reassuring south-east Asian countries that we're a responsible stakeholder of nuclear energy," he said.
Premier talks up jobs
Waste-disposal aside, the WA Premier welcomed the potential benefits of job creation as an industry is built around the subs.
"We're going to see a significant uplift in terms of jobs being generated in Western Australia," Mr Cook said.
He also pointed out this will make WA a "focal point" for the AUKUS partner's security plans.
"This is a huge opportunity for Western Australia, and WA understands it has a role to play as part of the overall regional security effort."
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