PART of the case against anything nuclear is the question of what to do with the waste.

Australia’s only nuclear reactor at Lucas Heights in Sydney is involved in medical research and the production of substances used in medicine.

It can retain its own waste under safe conditions.

The Federal Government has searched for an effective storage solution for low level radioactive waste for decades.

The Government’s plans, which have been rejected, have generally involved burying nuclear residue in deep bunkers in the outback and isolated areas of Australia.

The issue has recently become more urgent due to the possibility of our nation gaining nuclear-fuelled submarines under the AUKUS agreement.

Despite the Government’s failure to find a solution, private enterprises are now finding answers.

Out of the blue a Western Australian company named Tellus Holdings has established a facility called Sandy Ridge as the nation’s first disposal facility for low-level radioactive waste.

Already it is able to safely store 100,000 tonnes of accumulated waste by burying it in a deep pit secured under a huge canopy.

Much of that product is chemical waste which includes PFAS.

In the past year alone some 6000 cubic feet of radioactive material has been received at Sandy Ridge, which has been in operation since 2021.

Sandy Ridge is located on one of the oldest rock formations in the world which is seismically stable.

There is no aquifer system and no ground water anywhere within reach of this facility.

This initiative gives me great confidence that capable and intelligent people within Australia have the capacity to economically overcome many of our pressing issues, such as the safe disposal of nuclear and medical waste. Another achievement for which our nation should say many thanks.

By John BLACKBOURN