From John Crowhurst
Your report on the search for a solution to nuclear waste cited the Australian government’s refusal in 1999 to accept foreign nuclear waste (2 November, p 42). However, we have had several changes of government since, and, as explained in your article, there are now more ways of encapsulating nuclear waste for storage than by vitrification, the main method at the time.
As reported too, Australia is not only the most favourable country for storage in terms of political and economic stability, but it has several sites that are among the most geologically stable. Indeed, some in the outback are uranium mines. In non-populated areas and near a railway, these must be regarded as the best sites in the world for waste repositories.
The money earned from storing foreign waste would help to maintain Australia’s economic stability long after its coal and iron mining booms have ended.
Linden Park, South Australia
