Australia’s Nuclear Fuel Cycle Royal Commission on Monday recommended that South Australia aggressively pursue international nuclear waste disposal agreements estimated to deliver more than AUS $100 billion in state profit.
The commission released its final recommendation to South Australian Premier Jay Weatherill on a plan for the state to tap into Asia’s market for nuclear fuel disposal services. As proposed, South Australia would take about 60,000 tons of waste, storing or disposing of the material in the state’s arid, Archaean geological structure. The commission’s interim report, released in February, estimated revenue at $257 billion for the $145 billion, 120-year project.
The potential site, which could open in the late 2020s, would include an above-ground interim storage facility for casks and an underground repository for canister storage. Australia would explore taking waste from countries such as Taiwan, Japan, and South Korea. The 100-year capacity has been estimated at 138,000 tons of heavy metal waste units and 390,000 cubic meters of intermediate-level waste.
“The immediate issue facing South Australians is whether, on balance, it considers the potential opportunities to be of sufficient benefit, and the potential risks to be manageable, so as to support the further and more serious investigation of the commercial development of such a project in this state,” the commission’s report reads. “The Commission’s firm conclusion is that this opportunity should be actively pursued, and as soon as possible.”
Weatherill established the commission in March 2015, naming former rear admiral and state governor Kevin Scarce as sole commissioner and directing him to explore increasing South Australia’s participation in the nuclear fuel cycle. The disposal plan has been pitched as a way to kick-start South Australia’s troubled economy. Last year the state registered the highest unemployment rate in the country, at 8.2 percent.
In a statement Monday, Weatherill said the report marks the start of a “very important conversation” about South Australia’s future, noting that the commission has found the plan to be safe, viable, and capable of providing “extraordinary economic benefits.” “The Commissioner has also found that without broad social and specific community consent, such a proposal would not be achievable,” Weatherill wrote.
South Australia Sen. Sean Edwards has outlined his own version of the plan, which includes the construction of a new nuclear power plant. The senator claims there’s a way to completely recycle the material while also generating zero-carbon electricity. Canberra-based think tank the Australia Institute has blasted the plan as “an impossible dream” that doesn’t account for the global competition the project would draw. The institute also claimed Edwards’ plan fails to address 90 percent of the imported waste, stating that only 4,000 tons of the 60,000 tons can be recycled. Opponents have further cited South Australia’s failure to secure the consent of Aboriginal communities for previously proposed nuclear waste sites.
Australia is pursuing a separate project for the storage of low- and intermediate-level domestic nuclear waste. MP Josh Frydenberg, minister for resources, energy, and Northern Australia, has chosen a site in Barndioota, South Australia, as the preliminary selection.
The commission report states that storing and disposing of domestic nuclear waste should be separate from commercial storage of international waste.
The next step will be to engage South Australia, the report states, noting that some residents already are strongly opposed to the project. The commission suggested defining a broad concept; establishing a dedicated agency, overseen by an advisory board, to conduct community engagement and assess social consent; seeking the support of federal government; and, finally, identifying potential international clients.
Assuming this all moves forward, the federal government will need to pass legislation to allow international used fuel and intermediate-level waste storage and disposal facilities in South Australia, as well as support community development of a consent-based siting process.
Australia’s Nuclear Waste Storage Facility (Prohibition) Act 2000 bans spending public money “for the purpose of encouraging or financing any activity associated with the construction or operation of a nuclear waste storage facility’ in South Australia.”
“The Commission appreciates that this is a complex task,” the report reads. “It has learned of many failed attempts internationally to progress domestic used fuel disposal projects. The Commission has therefore outlined the steps it considers would need to be taken, both immediately and in the future, should the state government accept its recommendations.”
