7 Realising Australias uranium potential uranium Australia sells uranium only to those countries where there is a bilateral agreement committing the use of Australian sourced uranium to peaceful applications While the 2011 F ukushima incident drew great attention the United Nations Scientifc Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation reported that by 2015 no radiation related acute illness or deaths had been observed as a consequence of radiation exposure and no discernible increased incidence of radiation related health effects are expected In essence public attitudes are changing as more people are becoming aware of the economic and environmental benefts of uranium mining and nuclear energy in providing low emissions base load power to a world that is still energy defcient This awareness is being fuelled by continuous improvement of risk management within industry and ever more high profle environmentalists advocating the use of nuclear power P olicy reforms are needed to fully maximise uraniums potential Australia will not reach its potential as a uranium producer without changes to the regulatory and policy environment Australia needs to improve the regulatory environment to gain the full economic beneft of its uranium resources There are three priority areas for reform First exploration and the mining of uranium are still prohibited in Victoria Queensland and New South W ales permit uranium exploration but not mining Second uranium mining faces additional regulatory obstacles that are not applied to other mineral commodities The federal Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation EPB C Act for example includes nuclear actions including uranium mining as a Matter of National Environmental Signifcance MNES Accordingly uranium projects require approval from the Commonwealth minister for the environment who must decide whether assessment and approval is required under the EPB C Act There is no scientifc case however to justify default treatment of uranium mining as a Matter of National Environmental Signifcance The EPB C Act imposes an additional extensive Commonwealth assessment and approval process in addition to existing state processes irrespective of the location or conditions of the proposed uranium project In addition to increasing compliance costs the mandatory imposition of a second Commonwealth assessment and approval process generates uncertainty for investors and raises the cost of capital Third there are regulatory obstacles to the transportation of uranium Current arrangements see best practice packing transportation and exportation of uranium through South Australia P ort Adelaide and the Northern T erritory Darwin Other states do not allow the exportation of uranium through their ports This is despite the fact that all accept daily carriage of radiopharmaceuticals to and through over 200 hospitals and medical centres around Australia The Australian Nuclear Science and T echnology O r g a n i s a t i o n ANSTO sends around 2000 packages per month of radioisotopes for medical and industrial uses from Lucas Heights to destinations around Australia and overseas This compares with Australias current exports of fewer than 40 containers of uranium oxide concentrate per month T ransportation restrictions mean Australian exporters cannot ship on vessels certifed to carry Class 7 radioactive materials through ports other than Darwin and P ort Adelaide Such vessels can call at other ports with suitable or even preferable routes to end customers This can mean extra holding costs and delivery delays If the few shipping lines that service P ort Adelaide or Darwin are suddenly terminated as has occurred in the past market access may be completely restricted requiring vessel chartering and the loading of a substantial proportion of the countrys annual production onto a single vessel Australias advantages as a uranium supplier In addition to its considerable endowment Australia has an additional comparative advantage as a politically stable liberal democracy with high levels of economic and political and civil freedom W ith the exception of Canada and the United States the top 10 uranium producers in the world do not necessarily share those characteristics Australia is in a position to credibly commit to ensuring that uranium is only used for peaceful purposes in nuclear power plants