Ranger's toxic spill highlights the perils of self-regulation

The latest accident at the Ranger uranium mine is a timely reminder of the environmental risks of operating a heavy industry facility: especially a uranium mine on Indigenous land, surrounded by the World Heritage-listed Kakadu National Park.

But beyond the events of this week, Ranger is a symptom of a much bigger problem of extraordinarily weak environmental regulation.

Before you can take a prescription drug, get on a plane or drive a car, there have been rigorous, independent tests done to minimise the risks of harm to you. We don’t leave it largely up to pharmaceutical or car companies to tell us we’re safe.

So we don’t we apply those same precautionary standards to a mine in the heart of Kakadu?

Ranger’s troubled history

Last Saturday, one of the 10 large acid leach tanks at Ranger completely collapsed – spilling some one million litres of acidic radioactive ore slurry into the adjacent mill area.

The slurry burst over bunds that are meant to contain such an accident and entered the mill stormwater drainage system which goes to a mine water retention pond.

This is the latest in more than 200 environmental incidents at Ranger since 1979, including:

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  January to June 2011 – Mill shutdown due to a very big wet season leading to limited remaining storage volume for process water in the tailings dam. Luckily there was no big cyclone at the end of the wet season increasing the risk of the tailings dam over-filling (a very low chance but obviously catastrophic accident if the tailings dam failed and burst into the wetlands of Kakadu).

March 2004 – Process water accidentally connected to drinking water, which saw 28 workers shower in and drink water that was contaminated with levels of uranium 400 times the safe maximum under Australian standards. A further 131 workers were also potentially exposed to contaminated water. Ranger’s operator, ERA, was later prosecuted for the first time.

February 2002 – Incorrect stockpiling of low grade ore led to the escape of uranium contaminated water in the headwaters of Corridor Creek on the southern side of the mine.

December 1995 – Spillage of 12,000 litres of diesel into a mine water retention pond, which led to 40 bird deaths.

While the extensive list of publicly known incidents contains many of somewhat minor significance, the repeated serious incidents point to a more systemic and underlying problem.