Margarita M. Phillips 
In its revised plan for the operation, released by the planning department, the company said Veolia pledged to store the material at its Port Botany transfer facility after months of negotiations.
However, he said the business owner had an “overwhelmingly negative” reaction to the plan and threatened legal action if the project proceeded without his consent.
The Radium Hill Company uranium refinery at Hunters Hill, which was in operation at the turn of the 20th century.Credit:Photographer unknown
“If it is possible for Veolia to proceed without the agreement of the lessor, the risk of future goodwill in
dealing with the owner as well as the extreme financial risk to the project as a whole made this unlikely, ”US Ecology said in its report.
The company said it intended to transport the material via Adelaide, where logistics company Alara had a facility licensed to store such waste.
“Although extended trucking from Sydney increases costs and risks slightly, these are more than mitigated by the cost control acquired from the Alara-owned storage facility, flexibility in booking and loading vessels. at the Port of Adelaide and the overall use of an established safe and routing that has been well established over the years for a similar material, ”said US Ecology.
Neither the NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA) nor the Hunters Hill Council opposed the revised plan, which was approved on December 24.
A spokesperson for Veolia said the company was “happy that another resolution has been identified.”
The plan called for US Ecology to remove 1,712 tonnes of soil that authorities considered non-hazardous. The material exhibited radiological contamination and contained uranium, radium, thorium and lead.
The EPA has classified the land as “restricted solid waste.”
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A spokeswoman for the Planning Department said work to remove the contaminated soil began in September and is expected to take 18 to 24 months.
“[The Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation] will be responsible for establishing controlled areas and decontamination procedures throughout the remediation process. There will also be strict controls on dust and noise, ”she said.
The spokeswoman said the equipment would be transported in accordance with state and federal guidelines. The project would make the land suitable for residential use.
“This remediation solution will provide the best results for residents and taxpayers, ending a century-old contamination problem,” she said.
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