Dear Sir, The attached submission is relevant to the evidence being presented to the Royal Commission hearings into the uranium industry. I trust this information will help the Commission in its deliberations. Kindest regards Kevin R Kakoschke OAM

'NUKE' OR POLLUTE?

Recent editions of the 'Advertiser', Saturday Dec. 13, and the 'Australian', Saturday Dec. 13, 2014, highlighted two contentious environment issues, namely the reduction of carbon emissions and nuclear energy. The production of electricity using nuclear energy as the power source was an option for reducing carbon emissions. But what of the radioactive waste? Where did the nuclear dilemma in Australia begin? Radioactive uranium/radium was discovered at Radium Hill, South Australia in 1906 by Arthur Smith. The use of radium for producing electricity was highlighted way back in 1906. A newspaper article stated; 'that one ounce of it is equal to one hundred thousand nominal horsepower'. ...and that small quantity would be sufficient to drive or propel three of the largest battleships afloat for a period of two thousand years. By 1912, there were thirty-five miners working in the mine at Radium Hill extracting the uranium/radium bearing ore which was concentrated before being dispatched to Hunters Hill in Sydney for further processing into radium bromide (350mgms) and uranium (150kgms). Many of these men had links with Broken Hill. In 1913 an article in the 'Adelaide Register' newspaper claimed, 'It will mean that foreign nations will be obliged to seek from us the power wherewith to heat and light their cities, and find means of defence and offence,...The small space for storing radium would be infinitesimally small in comparison to that required for the storing of oil, coal or coke,... ...Its full value and resources should be exploited by the people for the people of Australia'. How prophetic, one hundred years on.

It wasn't just that the uranium/radium was useful for energy purposes, it had medicinal applications as well. As noted in the equivalent of the 'Australian Medical Journal ' at the time; Dr. Herman Lawrence, a Melbourne doctor 'stated that Australian radium has been found effective in treating cancer cases'. He went on to say; 'The Radium Hill Co. South Australia, sent a ten milligram specimen of radium bromide to me, asking me to examine same therapeutically.....I have also treated cases of keratoses, rodent ulcers, epithelioma,... and the results have been very satisfactory... its being used in the treatment of inoperable malignant growths and likewise being applied after operations for cancer, etc., in order to try and prevent a recurrence of the disease, there should be plenty of demand for all that can be produced in Australia, and as I understand the radium carrying ore exists at Radium Hill in large quantities, it may yet be a valuable export'. It is amazing that the beneficial uses of radioactive ores was established way back in the early 1900's and that it had export potential even then. That same year of 1913 saw the birth take place at Radium Hill of a little baby boy whose proud parents John and Eliza named him Radium, yes, Radium Keith Lively. Unfortunately, when the mine closed in 1914, the Lively family and others, moved to Broken Hill, where in 1917, young Radium succumbed to the influenza epidemic which was raging at the time in the Hill. In 1923 the mine was reopened by the Radium and Rare Earths Co. During a few days hectic trading in 1924, the shares zoomed from £3 to £19-10-0 each. No doubt some of the Broken Hill share trading 'entrepreneurs' would have had a slice of this action. The mine closed again in 1931. In 1940, the Australian Mining and Smelting Company, a subsidiary of the Consolidated Zinc Corporation of Broken Hill took up the lease but gave it up after being unsuccessful in treating the complex ores. In 1944, Reg Sprigg conducted a geological appraisal of the deposit which led to diamond drilling in 1947 and setting up a 50 man, exploration camp in 1949. This work indicated a potential mine for uranium. The uranium would be used for military purposes by the American and British interests. The Premier of South Australia, Thomas Playford had other ideas. He wanted a share of it to be used as the energy source for producing electricity, a nuclear reactor. His development schedule was; June 1954, commencement of an experimental nuclear reactor design. January 1960, commencement of nuclear reactor construction. January 1962, experimental nuclear reactor on stream. The nuclear reactor was to be located at Backy Bay (Fitzgerald) just north of Whyalla. The reactor would produce electricity and desalinate water. Unfortunately for Premier Playford, a nuclear research reactor was built in NSW instead. Maybe BHP will reactivate this concept to produce electricity for refining its copper etc. in Australia at Olympic Dam rather than overseas. It could also replace the polluting Pt. Augusta brown coal fired power station when it closes. The new power station would provide employment opportunities for workers at both Pt. Augusta and Whyalla.

As an added bonus it could also produce hydrogen to reduce reliance on oil products for use in motor cars. The Radium Hill uranium mine operated from 1954 until 1961. During the life of the mine, Broken Hill was the magnet for house wives to do their shopping and the single men to socialise and play sports. (A popular rendezvous for the single miners was the pubs and the 'Orange Spot Milk Bar'. Two beautiful girls served behind the counter at the milk bar and a popular order by the men was for a milk shake or an ice cream. Such an order meant that the girls needed to bend right over to scoop up an ice cream. The men would 'watch' the girls intently as they fulfilled their order and it wasn't to make sure that the ice cream scoop was full). The experimental phase of metallurgically treating the Radium Hill ore at the AMDEL Laboratories, Thebarton, Adelaide, meant that radioactive waste was produced. In the 1970's such public pressure was exerted on the Government of the day that on 2nd April 1981, they Gazetted 247 hectares at Radium Hill to be the site of a Low Level Radioactive Waste Repository. This was the first such State Government Radio active waste repository site to be

Gazetted in Australia. It complies with the nine site selection criteria of The National Health and Medical Research Council. Low Level Radioactive waste in 200 litre drums, mainly comprising contaminated soil, was transported to the site and buried in what was the old slimes (sands) dam. One load had three drums placed at the rear of the semi-trailer, as far away from the driver as possible for the journey, why? The last load was buried in 1998. In late 1997 contaminated radioactive wastes from the Beverley uranium leaching trials were also buried at the Radium Hill repository site. In 2005, when a national radioactive waste repository site was being sought, the Premier of South Australia Mike Rann, was very vocal in his objection to it being located in South Australia, as was the anti-nuclear lobby 'fear industry'. The Premier of the time didn't want such a site in his State. He conveniently overlooked the Government Gazetted Radium Hill low level radioactive waste repository site for which he was ultimately responsible and treated the South Australian public as mushrooms by feeding them political bullshit. The Adelaide Metropolitan area has 62 'known' scattered sites in which radioactive material is stored, why not just one? If it's OK to use the products of a nuclear reactor in the form of Cesium-137 and other radioactive isotopes for nuclear medicine including the treatment of cancer (over 300,000 doses of medical radioisotopes are produced each year) and the industrial applications of cobalt-60 and americium-241, then surely it must be acceptable to use nuclear reactors to produce carbon free electricity. On principle, it would be hypocritical to think otherwise. You can't have your cake and eat it too. Sweden has developed an intermediate level nuclear waste site which will have the waste buried in a shaft and tunnels 500 metres underground from 2015. Radium Hill has a shaft 420 metres deep and at least one drive (tunnel) 1.8m W x 2.2m H x 905m long. Could it be used for storing the container of reprocessed reactor rods enclosed in stainless steel cylinders and

synroc type material and due to be delivered back into Australia in 2015? Up to ten personnel would be required to oversee the storage of waste at the site during the storage operation. Maybe Broken Hill folk would find work opportunities during this phase? Or would the spent rods be stored in Federal Parliament house during the 10 months that Parliament won't be in session? A bit cynical of Parliamentarians? Yes. It would give impetus for Parliamentarians to make a decision rather than appoint another committee to look into the matter as they have been prone to do over the last forty five years and which has cost the Australian taxpayer millions of dollars which could have been better spent on hospitals and education. Legacies of Radium Hill are of National significance as the following list illustrates.

RADIUM HILL

HISTORIC LEGACIES AND A CATALYST

1. It was Australia’s first Uranium mine (1906) 2. In 1981 Radium Hill became the first Australian State Government Gazzetted Radio-active waste Dump site. (S.A. Government Gazette 2nd. April 1981) 3. The Uranium Ore was named Davidite by Sir Douglas Mawson (Trans. Royal Soc. S.Aust., V.30 1906) 4. Sir Douglas proposed the name Radium Hill for the site on the 4th. September 1906 and it possibly became the only such town to be named by him. (As per Pt.3 above) 5. Sir Douglas Mawson also had a half share in one of the mines along the line of lode. (Letter from Sir Douglas Mawson to Sir Maurice Mawby in 1940). 6. Perhaps the longest lasting and most tangible relic of the Radium Hill ghost town will be the main shaft head frame ore bin constructed from re-inforced concrete and having a ore holding capacity of 100tons plus mullock of 40tons a total of 140tons, claimed to be the biggest such structure in the Southern hemisphere. (Peter Hill, former S.A. Dept. of Mines special projects engineer). A pair of peregrine falcons have been using this site to raise their young. 7. The 2000ton capacity crushed ore receiving bin constructed from re-inforced concrete and the concrete 2million gallon capacity fresh water tank on top of ‘Tank Hill’. 8. The Arthur J Smith Monument at Radium Hill: paying tribute to the prospector who discovered the mineral deposit in 1906 near the site. 9. It was the first uranium mine in Australia to enter into an export agreement for selling its product overseas.(Norton Jackson) 10. In 1955 the Radium Hill Project was the first mining organization in Australia to take to court the matter of manning light air-leg mounted rock drills, to have one man to a machine. It was successful in the case and set a precedent for the Australian mining industry. (Judge Pellew-Moore). 11. It was the first time in the world that the boiling concentrated sulphuric acid technique was used to further process Davidite uranium bearing ore. (Norton Jackson) 12. At Radium Hill the heavy media milling process was used for separating hard rock ore for the first time in Australia.(Norton Jackson) 13. A Barite mine was established near Quorn to provide material for the processing of uranium concentrate at Pt. Pirie and later to be a source of dense aggregate for the Lucas Heights Project. (Norton Jackson)

14. A pyrite mine was opened near Nairne as a source of base materials for the manufacture of sulphuric acid, which was also used in the processing of uranium concentrates at the Pt. Pirie treatment plant.(‘Above and Below”, by B. O’Neil) 15. The S.A. and Federal Government together with the mining industry established the Australian Mineral Development Laboratories or AMDEL as it is known, to keep together the various research science specialists associated with the exploration, mining and milling requirements of Radium Hill and subsequently the broader Australian mining community as a whole.( Sir Ben S. Dickinson tape, Norton Jackson and “Above and Below”). 16. The pool of experts so gathered at AMDEL and the Mines Dept. prompted Sir Eric Rudd to help form The Australian Mineral Foundation in Adelaide which acts as a focus for the Australian mining industry. (“Above and Below” by B. O’Neil and also Norton Jackson) 17. In the 1950's, it was envisioned that a nuclear reactor may be located on Spencer Gulf to generate electricity and desalinate water using Radium Hill uranium as its energy source. (“Above and Below” By B. O’Neil) 18. A survey of former Radium Hill miners revealed that by 1987, 54 had died of lung cancer. It indicated a significant increase in the risk of contacting lung cancer when compared to the general population. Many more have died since. The results of this survey by the Department of Community Medicine, Adelaide University and the S.A. Health Commission has led in part to the implementation of regulations for safer working conditions in the uranium mines of today. (“Above and Below” by B. O’Neil. SEARCH Vol.22, Num.4 June 1991. Cancer Causes and Control, Vol.2. 1991).

RADIUM HILL

“THE BIG C”

Down in the earth’s bowels as black as night

The miners would go, following their light

With rock drill, steels, and a bundle of hoses

A packet of “Dets” and later, explosives

They’d bore their holes eight feet or more

Then tamp in “gelly’ got from the store

The fuses long with a det on, crimped

Rammed in last before you could blink

A waxened match to fuse they’d light

Then hasten clear for their very life

Five minutes or more they’d wait to hear

The crack of explosions blasting their ear

A whoosh of air along the drives would wash

Spiked with the Radon gas, a cancerous cost

Many didn’t know the risk they took

When they bogged, bored, and fired, all by the “book”

Till some years later when the “big C” appeared

And 54 families lost their Miner dear

No compo paid I seem to hear?

Kevin Kakoschke

6/9/02

19. Ninety house number and former occupant name plaques have been erected on former house and business premises around the old town site making this a rather unique way of recognizing our past cultural heritage. 20. The town layout was in keeping with Government “public service” tradition of the 1950’s where the housing of senior staff, staff, married daily paid and single daily paid men were built as separate clusters around a centrally located array of sporting venues and some shops. Building legacies of the town are still evident today. 21. Radium Hill was one of the few Government Projects that made a profit.(Sir Thomas Playford, Premier of South Australia in Hansard 1961, ) 22. The Radium Hill Historical Association Inc. was formed by ex-Radium Hill Residents to establish and preserve the historic and cultural heritage of the former Radium Hill town, mine, Radium Hill Pioneers Cemetery and Radium Hill Heritage Museum. 23. Perhaps part of the former approx. 2000 hectare uranium mining reserve could now be listed on the State Heritage Register, in recognition of Sir Douglas Mawson’s involvement with Radium Hill and of its unique historical and cultural contribution to the Australian mining industry. Twenty three former residents requested that on their death, their ashes be interred in the Radium Hill Pioneer Cemetery. This has been carried out together with the erection of mine rock headstones to mark their final resting place. Each Easter, scores of ex-residents make the pilgrimage back to Radium

Hill to pay their respects to their loved ones who have paid the supreme sacrifice for the uranium mining industry. The Cemetery and surrounds are their sacred site.

As recognition of Radium Hill's importance to the Australian uranium industry and to the sacrifices made by people who had worked in Radium Hill which has added to the ongoing safety precautions employed in the mines of today, perhaps declaring the Radium Hill site to be of national heritage significance would be a small token of appreciation. The former Department of Conservation and Heritage conducted an appraisal of the area in 2003 and deemed that it should be placed on the State's Heritage register, but as yet it has not happened. Why not? A few years ago, a consulting firm looked into the possibility of South Australia being a repository for international radioactive waste. At the time, they estimated that it would be approx. a $20 billion industry for South Australia. Some of the above information is contained in the 398 page book; 'OFF THE BARRIER HIGHWAY' written by the author of this article and is available from the author, price $39. Address; Kevin R Kakoschke OAM 13/3/2015

Contact Details Removed

The Radium Hill Mine Main Shaft area buildings and ore bins, 1950's

The 'Ghostly' Radium Hill Main Shaft ore bins 2010 and the FX Holden 50 years later.

Radium Hill Low Level Radioactive Waste Repository (Dump) 2010.

A miner on a stage ladder boring holes for explosives high up in an underground stope.

Radium Hill Historical Assn. Inc. President: Kevin R. Kakoschke OAM 13/3/2015.