Operating since 2020, Tellus’ Sandy Ridge facility in the WA Goldfields is Australia’s only operating geological repository for hazardous waste.
And since the beginning of last year, we’ve also been the sole licensed operational facility for low-level radioactive waste.
We’re always keen to share our story, and, given some of the milestones we’ve passed recently—100,000 tonnes of waste through our front gate, including around 6,000 cubic metres of low-level radioactive waste—it’s little wonder the world is beginning to take notice.
Following a major story on Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) online and a feature on ABC TV’s 7.30, Sandy Ridge has now been featured in The West Australian.
As Ben Harvey reports, the Department of Defence is proposing to replicate what Sandy Ridge offers at the Garden Island naval base in Perth, ahead of the commissioning of nuclear submarines under the AUKUS agreement.
The difference?
Well, Sandy Ridge is in one of the most remote places on earth, with the safest geology to be found anywhere for storing hazardous and radioactive materials.
As for the proposed Garden Island storage facility—to quote the article, it would be “within spitting distance of the Rockingham foreshore.”
It’s no surprise that opposition to the Defence proposal is growing. As we at Tellus know through long experience, gaining “social licence” is the biggest challenge with the disposal of hazardous and low-level radioactive waste.
And at Sandy Ridge, that challenge has been met.