Nexus - 0109 - New Times Magazine-pages

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Radioactive Beaches Some Gop Coast BEACHES “(The council) say that they’re con- ARE CONTAMINATED BY RADIO- cerned about the environmental effects of ACTIVE SAND producing more than six mining yet they know about this.” Alderman times the recommended safety level of Coomber admitted “some hot spots”: ap- radiation. peared when rutile was exposed temporarily According to Mr Peter Neumann, man- after storms. aging director of Currumbin Minerals, the This writer has personally investigated Gold Coast City Council suppressed this some old sand mining areas in Northern information due to fears about its effect on NSW with a Geiger counter, finding extraor- tourism. Council beach and foreshores com- dinary levels of radiation at some locations. ~~ - mittee chairperson Alderman Trevor The mining process concentrates heavy ra- Ca n d | d Ba n ki n g Coomber admitted the high levels, but dioactive elements by placing the sand in a claimed they were not dangerous and that Mr centrifuge, and less economically useful Neumann was “setting up asmokescreen” to radioactive elements are simply left in high ALL MAJOR AUSTRALIAN BANKS divert attention from its sand mining. concentrations in tailings in many areas. HAVE CONFIRMED THAT THEY HAVE Mr Neumann claims radiation levels of Sand mining for rutile has been under- FITTED CAMERAS inside their automatic about 180 microrems per minute were found taken for decades right around our coasts and teller machines, Westpac, Commonwealth, during two surveys by the Queensland: Uni- has left these tailings in many places. One National Australia and ANZ banks have fit- versity of Technology which were commis- notable example is at Byron Bay, where ted the cameras (which are inmost cases not sioned by Currumbin. The. generally ac- radioactive tailings were given away as free visible) in the interests of ‘security’. Some cepted ‘international standard’ safe dose.of landfill to private individuals and construc- cameras run continually, according to West- radiation is about 60 microrems/minute, tion projects including the local hospital and pac spokesperson Mr Tony Benner. The film while Queensland has a 27 microrem safety atleast one school. We know of this example is held by the bank indefinitely and processed level standard. because atown expanded around the tailings. only if there is a dispute or fraud is discov- One survey was conducted at Tugun and Who knows how many other areas are simi- ered; but videotapes from 24 hour surveil- the other at Tugun, Burleigh Heads and Bil- larly affected? lance cameras requires no processing. An inga, all major tourist beaches. Protesters repeatedly blocked the path of ANZ spokesperson.claimed they were pri- “Highly radioactive sand was found over heavy machinery mining at a 350 metre marily designed to stop vandalism. a wide area on those beaches,” said Mr stretch of beach at Tugun in June, forcing “Jt's like a general deploying his troops,” Neumann. = , Currumbin Minerals to stop sand mining announced Mr John Marsden of the Austra- Currumbin is mining rutile, which con- there several times. In June the Gold Coast liaw-Banker's Association.“ He doesn't use tains the radioactive mineral monozite. Council asked the Queensland Government all the artillery all the time, and part of the oa Coast beaches are covered in this to revoke the company’s long-standing lease value of having that piece of equipment in rutile,” said Mr Neumann. on the beach. your armoury is that.it is not known about.” “The banker/customer relationship in my opinion does not include random photo- graphing of transactions,” said Federal Pri- vacy Commissioner and Human Rights : Commission member Mr Kevin O’Connor. i “People should be permitted to go about their innocent social activity without feeling wor- nied that someone has a photo of them which may be used in some: way to trace their - movements or possibly to embarrass them.” N y al | - J It certainly isn’t any pice being 2 i YA, See Clatraudient ... since my motirer dhed she's been in my ear nagging SUCCESSFUL EXPERIMENTS HAVE litres of fuel oil per week which cotild sell for ine 24 hours i PAVED THE WAY for the conversion of as little as 30c a litre. sewage sludge to cheap fuel oil. “The concept is mind-boggling and de- Arai j] ), A$320,000 contract was awarded earlier serves a thorough scientific examination,” eee ah wa traatmant nlant as he announced the vlan. Ake , ine Res for a pilot oil-from-sewage plant at said NS W Environment Minister Tim Moore Ya Malahae a: “The banker/customer relationship in my opinion does not include random photo- graphing of transactions,” said Federal Pri- vacy Commissioner and Human Rights Commission member Mr Kevin O’Connor. “People should be permitted to go about their innocent social activity without feeling wor- nied that someone has a photo of them which may be used in some: way to trace their - movements or possibly to embarrass them.” N y al | - J It certainly isn’t any pice being 2 A # g- Clairaudient ... since my mother ched she’s been in my ear nagging ine 24 hours a day SUCCESSFUL EXPERIMENTS HAVE litres of fuel oil per week which cotild sell for PAVED THE WAY for the conversion of as little as 30c a litre. sewage sludge to cheap fuel oil. “The concept is mind-boggling and de- ° A$320,000 contract was awarded earlier serves a thorough scientific examination,” this year for a pilot oil-from-sewage plant at said NS W Environment Minister Tim Moore Sydney's Malabar sewage treatment plant. as he announced the plan. Campbell Environmental Ltd, the company “Jt is obviously preferable to tum sludge which will run the pilot study, claim to be into valuable fuel oil if possible rather than able to recover 300 litres of fuel oil from each continuing to just dump itinto the sea, incin- tonne of sludge. Using these figures the erate it or use it as land fill,” he said. Malabar works could produce up to 70,000 Mes 2308 fiw a IvldlaDal WOTKS Could prouues up Ww /u,vuU , oe NEXUS New Times Nine - 1989 5