Australia Nuclear Update

Nuclear reactors have a good safety record and worries about the disposal of nuclear waste are misplaced, Deputy Whip Alan Eggleston said yesterday, adding that Australia should consider using nuclear energy to reduce its reliance on coal for electricity.

Senator Eggleston said Australia's energy needs were projected to rise by 50 per cent by 2020.

Coal, the main energy source, caused a third of all greenhouse gas emissions in Australia.

With 40 per cent of the world's uranium reserves, Australia couldn't continue to be so reliant on coal.

... He said there were impediments to other alternatives - gas, solar, hydro and wind power - in Australia.

Senator Eggleston said one of the biggest obstacles was public perceptions about the safety of nuclear reactors.

But there had only ever been two major accidents, at Chernobyl and Three Mile Island. There were no deaths at the latter.

Experts had said nuclear-related risks were among the lowest in the energy industry.

He said the other issue was the disposal of nuclear waste.

But it had been estimated that all the world's waste for a year could be safely stored in a structure the size of a football field and 1.5 metres high.

"It would seem that even though there is a great deal of public controversy about the storage of nuclear waste, perhaps that controversy and concern is a little misplaced," Senator Eggleston said. "It is time to move beyond the demonisation of nuclear power."

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