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• SSR 185 - Investigation of radiation clearance procedures for vehicles leaving the Ranger mine (PDF - 1,472 KB)

About the report

Energy Resources of Australia (ERA), the operator of the Ranger uranium mine in the Northern Territory, advised the Assistant Secretary of the Office of the Supervising Scientist by telephone on 5 February 2004 that an incident had occurred in which two small earth-moving vehicles, called 'bobcats', had been returned in a mildly contaminated condition to the workplace of the Community Development and Employment Project (CDEP) in Jabiru. Written notification of the incident was provided by e-mail on the following day. The telephone notification described the contaminated material as being of 'low activity' and the incident was initially treated as being of a relatively minor nature.

On 29 March 2004, the Supervising Scientist was informed by a staff member of the Gundjeihmi Aboriginal Corporation that the manager of the CDEP was concerned about the incident and wished to meet with the Supervising Scientist to discuss the issue. The Supervising Scientist met with staff of CDEP on 30 March 2004 and, following discussion of the CDEP concerns, agreed to investigate the incident and to provide a report on completion of the investigation.

The investigation has revealed that there were at least three occasions on which vehicles left the Ranger mine site without adequate radiation clearance during 2003 and 2004. This report contains the results of the Supervising Scientist's investigation of the circumstances under which these vehicles left the Ranger mine and his assessment of the likely impact on the health of members of the public who were exposed to radioactive material contained on these vehicles.