In the Western Australian outback, a private company has quietly set up the nation's first disposal facility for low-level radioactive waste — burying it in a deep pit under a huge canopy.
The company also takes chemical waste for disposal, such as PFAS, at the facility named Sandy Ridge.
7.30 was given a tour of the facility, with PPE and a device that monitored radiation levels.
"In the past year we've accepted 6,000 cubic metres of radioactive material and in this entire cell we've accepted 100,000 tonnes of combined low-level radioactive waste and chemical waste," Tellus Holdings CEO Nate Smith told 7.30.
"We opened up for chemical waste in 2021.
"We opened up fully to accept low-level radioactive waste from anywhere in Australia about 18 months ago … everything from critical minerals by-products to nuclear medicine from hospitals, even contaminated soil from some of the largest cities in Australia.
"There is no other geological repository at the table to accept waste nationwide. In Australia, we're the first and very proud of that."
Mr Smith said it took 10 years to secure state government approval for the $80 million facility in the area he says is geologically suited for the disposal of dangerous waste.
"It was almost a decade long process to actually get the approval ... multiple steps, peer reviews, international experts weighing in on our safety case. So very robust," he said.
"So you want a place that's seismically stable. Sandy Ridge is built on one of the oldest rock formations in the world.
"You don't want to have groundwater that could potentially be contaminated by what you put in your cell.
"So at Sandy Ridge, one of the unique parts about it is there's no aquifer systems and no groundwater."
An aquifer is a geological formation which holds water in sufficient quantity to provide a source of water that can be tapped by a bore.
A history of community division
In setting up Sandy Ridge for low-level radioactive waste, the private operator has achieved something the Commonwealth has tried to do for two decades without success.
In 2004, plans for a Commonwealth-run facility in the South Australian outback were abandoned after the state Labor government won a challenge in the High Court.
Ten years later, legal action by Aboriginal groups forced the federal government to abandon another proposed site at Mukaty Station in the Northern Territory.
The latest push centred on farming land at Kimba in South Australia. This time the community was promised $30 million to host the facility, which some locals described as "bribe money".
That site was abandoned in 2023 after traditional owners successfully challenged the proposal in court.
Emeritus Professor Ian Lowe from Griffith University has been watching the nuclear waste debate over many years and says the government needed to change its consultation style if it was to win over traditional owners for any site chosen in the future.
"Wherever governments have tried to decide on the site and then impose it on the community … the proposal has fallen over," he told 7.30.
"Traditional owners are quite suspicious of anything nuclear, because of the experience after the Menzies government, [which] allowed the British to test their nuclear weapons at Emu fields and Maralinga.
"Indigenous people were injured in that process.
"So I think it will take very sensitive engagement with Indigenous people to persuade them that the radioactive waste is not harmful."
Mr Smith said meeting Indigenous groups early in the process and giving them veto rights as well as jobs and royalties helped his company secure support for the Sandy Ridge facility in Western Australia.
"I think one of the most challenging parts about launching a low-level radioactive waste facility, or indeed, hazardous waste facilities, is building trust with your key stakeholders," he told 7.30.
"It's not a direct path. I think it's quite a bit of engagement, hundreds of cups of tea and coffee, sit-downs and pubs."
Federal Resources Minister Madeleine King conceded Commonwealth consultation must be more inclusive going forward.
"As we look to establish that permanent disposal pathway for low and intermediate level waste that everyone's concerns are listened to, in particular, that will include traditional owners," Ms King said.
The federal government is undertaking a formal review of past mistakes and future site options.
AUKUS will present a new challenge
Australia's stockpile is currently held at more than 100 sites across the nation, including Lucas Heights in Sydney, where radioisotopes are made for nuclear medicine and research.
"We have almost 10,000 red drums of low-level solid radioactive waste," ANSTO spokeswoman Paula Berghofer said.
"The kind of waste that is produced tends to be things like rubber gloves, or it could be paper towel, it could be contaminated, personal protective equipment, and these things are then collected from all of our facilities and then stored in our red drums."
Ms Berghofer said there was enough temporary storage space at Lucas Heights for until about 2040, but she hopes a permanent Commonwealth facility will be established by then.
"We have a long history of being able to safely manage our radioactive waste, but it is not a permanent disposal option, so we are supporting the government in all of its endeavours for progressing that disposal site," Ms Berghofer said.
It's not just low-level radioactive waste causing the federal government headaches.
Professor Lowe said the government also needed to find a solution for high-level waste from nuclear reactors once the AUKUS submarines are built.
"I'm very worried about the prospect of us having AUKUS submarines and having to manage the waste at the end of their useful life," Professor Lowe said.
"That's a problem that neither the UK nor the USA has yet solved after more than 50 years of operating nuclear submarines."
Minister King said finding a home for high-level waste was challenging, but imperative for AUKUS.
"It is something I speak with the defence minister and prime minister about regularly," she said.
"It is a challenge we have to meet and we have to face because we also have to pursue AUKUS to make sure we keep Australians safe."
Permanent solution 'essential'
While Tellus Holdings isn't licensed to accept high-level radioactive waste, Mr Smith says his company is prepared to take the entire Commonwealth low-level waste stockpile, including from Lucas Heights, along with maintenance material from US submarines which will be docked in Perth from 2027 onwards.
The latter waste is proposed to be stored at Perth's Garden Island Naval base.
"I don't see any reason why we would want to store low-level radioactive wastes in a city, near waterways, when we have one of the safest places on the planet for low-level radioactive wastes available today," he said.
Ms King told 7.30 Sandy Ridge could be an option for the Commonwealth's low-level radioactive waste.
"We can't ignore the fact that in Western Australia, there now exists a disposal site for low-level radioactive waste that has all the permits, all the approvals, and everything it needs to do to operate safely," she said.
But she said there were some legislative hurdles that had to be passed.
"There are a number of bans across the country on the transport of [certain types] of radioactive waste, and that has to be overcome," Ms King said.
"I have to go through the appropriate processes to reach a final decision on this, and that decision is not imminent.
"[But] I am very confident that we will eventually get a permanent disposal pathway for low-level and intermediate-level radioactive waste in this country because it is essential that we do so."
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