Australia could be taking on nuclear waste from the AUKUS submarine deal after new laws were tabled in parliament last year.
The legislation permits facilities for, “managing, storing or disposing of radioactive waste from an Aukus submarine.”
Nuclear engineer Tony Irwin says nuclear waste disposal around the world is still in its infancy.
In this episode of The Briefing, engineer Tony Irwin shares what these laws mean:
“This certainly seems to be a legacy in Australia of fear, from not nuclear power, but nuclear weapons and there still seems to be an association in Australia”.
Australia produces about forty-five cubic metres of low-level waste per year. Most of that is, is the medical waste.
“A very large nuclear power plant produces about two shipping containers a year of low-level waste. It’s just packed into drums and you can sort of stand beside it. It’s not highly Radioactive,” Irwin said.
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