Wasting the Nation.indd - Groundwork

Chapter 4: The toxic cradle of productionThe lax approach of the mining industry, and its regulators, can be seen in the DMEreport’s argument for mixing contaminated materials into existing mine dumps:… there are recognised benefits of reintroducing radioactive residues fromuranium and acid plant maintenance / decommissioning into the millingand gold-uranium extraction process. Apart from the financial benefits ofrecovering gold and uranium, the gradual reintroduction of this materialinto the process has the effect of returning the radionuclide concentrationsback to their original values, i.e. to the levels prevailing in the original feedmaterial to the plant. The reprocessing of these residues therefore avoidshaving to dispose of them separately (a potentially risky and expensiveprocess if they are to remain at high activity concentrations). Instead, theysimply end up as being an indistinguishable part of the tailings. [DME2000: 52]Pelindaba, the nuclear research facility near the Hartbeespoort Dam, placed its wastesin an excavated hillside called Thabana. For this waste, “complete records are notavailable”, as the audit politely puts it. It was foreseen that all the Thabana trencheswould eventually have to be excavated. The audit anticipated that decommissioningof buildings, stores and plants (including the Safari-1 reactor) would result in13,000 cubic metres of waste, from a total volume of 150,000 cubic metres incontaminated materials. It expected this to be a costly process (but gave no figures)that would last between 20 and 30 years.At the time of the report, Vaalputs in Namaqualand contained 7,371 m 3 of low andintermediate level waste which is mostly material coincidentally contaminated byradio-activity or with uranium. Vaalputs is now being considered for the burial ofhigh level waste. Thus far, Koeberg nuclear power station has stored its high levelwaste on site. This waste is composed of spent fuel assemblies and stored in racksunder water. The racks are periodically repacked to cram in more waste. Accordingto the report, by 1999 Eskom had provided R1,164 million for the management ofthe spent fuel and the eventual decommissioning of Koeberg.There is still no plan for final disposal of high level radio-active waste.Wasting the Nation - groundWork - 95 -