The biggest challenge in radioactive waste management globally isn’t finding a safe geological location…or engineering…or safely transporting toxic material…
It’s gaining approval from local communities – a social licence to operate.
Across the world, governments (including Australia’s) have collectively spent billions of dollars over decades in fruitless attempts to gain the consent of communities when seeking to site radioactive waste disposal facilities.
In our experience, successfully siting a radioactive waste facility starts and ends with trust.
With Sandy Ridge now in its fourth year of operations under a native title agreement and with support from our local community in WA, Tellus is proud to share our experience with the international community. Which is why our CEO Nate Smith was in Sweden late last month.
Supported by the Minister for Resources and Northern Australia the Hon Madeleine King and the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Nate is the Australian Government’s nominee to the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency Forum on Stakeholder Confidence (and one of the only private entities invited to be a member of the group).
Operating within the OECD framework, the NEA is an intergovernmental body dedicated to maintaining and further developing the scientific, technological and legal bases required for a safe, environmentally sound and economical use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.
The NEA Forum on Stakeholder Confidence includes member countries grappling with the challenge of gaining community consent and obtaining social licence. Fellow members include government representatives from the USA, UK, Canada, Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and other world leaders in the radioactive waste management sector.
In his address to the forum, Nate shared the lessons and insights from Tellus’ successful approach to consent-based siting. Reflecting on the challenges of seeking community approval:
“When you want to create a successful partnership, you need to listen more than you speak…and listen to what’s important to your particular community. Successful and sustainable operations can only come from a trusted partnership.”
Nate Smith Managing Director & CEO, Tellus
Since operations at Sandy Ridge began in 2021, Tellus has disposed of more than 100,000 tonnes of hazardous waste, including 6,000 cubic metres of low-level radioactive waste material from nearly every State and Territory in Australia, including from both government and private radioactive waste owners.