On November 26th 2004, Greenpeace Australian released a report "Secret's Lies and Uranium Enrichment" revealing a 30 year secret nuclear research project at Lucas Heights, Australia's only nuclear reactor, in Sydney.
Victor Sobral
The Silex laser uranium enrichment project had varying levels of US monetary support over the protected by US-Australia bilateral agreement that hid the project as 'protected data'. Successive Australian governments have supported the nuclear enrichment research. Despite being privatised in recent years the Silex project continues to occupy taxpayer-funded public space and use the resources at Lucas Heights. It has violated the rights of local citizens to know of the danger they are living in the vicinity of.
The laser uranium enrichment project has been described by UK physicist Dr Frank Barnaby as a "considerable risk" to nuclear proliferation, being a cheaper process using smaller facilities to create weapons grade uranium.
"The risk of terrorists getting primitive nuclear explosives is real and I think it's only a matter of time before they do because it is relatively simple in this day and age to find out how to and to actually produce a primitive nuclear weapon," Dr Frank Barnaby told ABCTV's 7:30 Report on December 10th.
Lucas Heights security was breached by 46 anti-nuclear activists in 2002 indicating that advanced nuclear material in Australia is not being held securely. There are many sites where nuclear material sufficent for terrorists to make weapons exist in relatively insecure circumstances such as at Steritech nuclear irradiation plants that use Cobalt-60. Alleged terrorist Willie Brigitte was alleged to have been planning to blow up Lucas Heights reactor.
Australia's hidden nuclear enrichment project indicates the close ties our government has with the US on nuclear issues, ties that perhaps led them to recommend Foreign Minster Alexander Downer as new head to the International Atomic Energy Agency. It also makes a mockery of Australia's push to censure Iran for nuclear proliferation that we have been doing in secret.
Victor Sobral from Community Radio 4ZzZ102.1fm in Brisbane talked to Greenpeace Australia nuclear campaigner James Courtney about the revelations.
![<?php echo $config['site_title']; ?>](/static/images/rp-navimg.gif)
![Support the <?php echo $config['site_title']; ?>](/static/images/support.png)
