Peak Hill waste plan angers locals
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There is a growing anger about a mining company's plans to dump hundreds of tonnes of liquid waste in Peak Hill.
Alkane Resources is seeking approval to store 800 tonnes of waste in lined ponds at its Peak Hill Gold Mine.
The slurry would come from a demonstration plant in Sydney processing ore mined from the Dubbo region.
However, Bev Elliott from the Peak Hill Advancement Association says residents strongly oppose the plan.
"Peak Hill just doesn't want to have people dumping their rubbish here. We have a lovely little town and we don't want other people's waste being brought to Peak Hill," she said.
"We don't want to be seen as a place for people to dump their waste or rubbish. We would prefer it to be left in Toongi or left at Lucas Heights in Sydney."
The advancement association is calling on the Parkes council to reject the plan.
But the managing director of Alkane Resources, Ian Chalmers, says residents have nothing to fear.
"It's completely harmless. I don't know why people get the wrong idea about it just because it comes from ANSTO [Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation] doesn't mean it's radioactive and certainly obviously we wouldn't be able to transport radioactive material, so that's complete nonsense," he said.
"The residual metals in it are just normal things that occur in rocks all over the central west. There's no residual radioactive material there of great note.
"Remember the rock itself up at Toongi is slightly radioactive. These type of rocks always carry a bit of uranium and thorium, but it's not dangerous."
