Western Australia has had decades of successful campaigning against the nuclear industry and has held a long term ban on uranium mining in the state. In the past years we have seen a push by a new Government to overturn the ban on uranium mining. But public opinion in Western Australia shows that this is a dirty, risky and thirsty industry that doesn't not provide a clean and sustainable future for WA.

With Australia holding 30-40% of the world’s known conventional uranium reserves Western Australia has become the new frontier for the nuclear industry with a major exploration boom under way. There are over one hundred uranium mining companies currently exploring in WA.
 
CCWA is working in alliance with the Noongar Nations, Wangatha People, Yamatji Land & Sea Council the Anti-Nuclear Alliance of Western Australia’s Ban Uranium Mining Permanently campaign, Wilderness Society, Australian Conservation Foundation, Western Australian Student Environment Network, faith based organisations, trade unions and health professionals.

This year the nuclear free campaign is firing up again as the Barnett government looks to open the doors to uranium mining in the state. We need people like YOU to join the campaign to keep WA Uranium Free and send a strong message to Barnett’s radioactive donkey cart and to keep uranium in the ground.

Why Uranium In Western Australia and What is it? 

Uranium is unlike any other minerals that are currently mined. It brings risks to workers health with exposure to radiation and the persistent threat of environmental contamination. It is also the beginning of the nuclear story; this unstable and radioactive heavy metal is the basic fuel for both nuclear power and nuclear weapons. 

Uranium is a radioactive element – it is this property that makes it useful to the nuclear industry. Uranium atoms are unstable and routinely disintegrate into smaller pieces with a burst of energy, which can be extremely dangerous to people and the environment. Different forms of radiation have different hazards, alpha particles are damaging if they are inhaled or swallowed whilst gamma rays can travel right through your body and even through protective materials.