Prospect or suspect – uranium mining in AustraliA
Activity 6
The implications of nuclear-free zones within Australia
Some councils in Australia have declared their municipalities to be nuclear-free zones. This means that no nuclear material, excluding that used for nuclear medicine or industrial radiography, can be brought into or transported through the municipality.
- If the federal government, in making policies for the
whole country, decides that uranium mining (and the related transport
of materials) is acceptable, should individual municipalities
be allowed to interfere with these policies?
- What would happen if every council in Australia declared
its shire or municipality to be a nuclear-free zone?
- Imagine you live in a municipality that is not a nuclear-free zone and the federal government is proposing to build a transport depot for yellow cake near your town. Write a letter to the minister responsible for the decision, explaining your attitude to the proposal.
Teachers notes
These questions are important as a means of encouraging informed discussion. Students can be encouraged to find answers to questions that arise during their discussion (eg, the amount of risk if a semi-trailer carrying yellow cake loses its load in a traffic accident).
External sites are not endorsed by the Australian Academy of Science.
Posted February 1997.
Posted February 1997.