Half a billion dollars for a nuclear reactor that is not needed in a southern Sydney region which has 200,000 residents. As if that isn't stupid enough, information released last week has revealed major risks and mismanagement during the December 1997 bushfires.

On 2 December, bushfires swept through the Sutherland Shire / Lucas Heights region, with fires on three sides of the nuclear reactor facility operated by the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO).

Within ANSTO, farce was the order of the day. In a report delivered to the Sutherland Shire Council on 23 February, ANSTO has acknowledged a host of problems: risks in and around buildings where flammable materials have been allowed to accumulate; failure to monitor information that was available from the Sutherland Fire Control Centre, despite having an ANSTO liaison person there; failure to monitor information on the local radio station; the hazard reduction/clearance program was inadequate around buildings B72 and B75; "most" ANSTO staff followed instructions but "difficulties were experienced with some tenants on site"; a fire was discovered inside building 77, caused by spontaneous combustion of rubbish due to the rise in air temperature; public address announcements were misinterpreted by the announcer because they were not written down; staff did not have adequate information on road closures; lack of co-ordination of volunteer fire-fighters; and poor visibility of some fire hydrants.

ANSTO's Safety Division admits that it needs external advice to deal with some of the problems identified during the crisis.

The most alarming part of the ANSTO report is the euphemism that "Only a few small spot fires at effluent tank in Waste Management Area were reported." ANSTO's waste stockpile includes liquid molybdenum waste arising from radioisotope production. As far back as 1989, this "moly" waste was identified as having the potential for off-site consequences in the event of an accident such as a seismic event or a major fire. It is unclear how close the fires came to the moly waste - ANSTO refused to answer questions when contacted.

The federal government's Safety Review Committee (SRC) has repeatedly criticised ANSTO for delays in the project to solidify the liquid moly waste. Even when it is solidified, there is nowhere to dispose of this Category S waste until a national waste repository is established (more on that next week).

Residents have raised a number of other concerns about the bushfires. They want information on the extent to which resources were diverted to fight the fires in and around ANSTO - resources that might otherwise have been able to protect people and property in the Shire. Residents from Barden Ridge and Menai were evacuated but faced traffic jams - a problem that was identified decades ago. The Barden Ridge school was evacuated, partly because of the presence of LPG cylinders. There are unanswered questions as to what impact an explosion of LPG cylinders would have on the nearby ANSTO facility.

The mismanagement of the bushfire crisis reflects the head-in-the-sand approach ANSTO has adopted since it was created in 1953. It has been politically expedient to trivialise the risks instead of acknowledging - and thoroughly prepare for - the dangers associated with operating a nuclear reactor in a suburban region.

On 23 February, Councillor Genevieve Rankin moved a motion to the Sutherland Shire Council that Council oppose the operation of the existing HIFAR reactor, and the construction of a new reactor, in the Lucas Heights region. The motion was lost 7-6, with the Liberal Party turncoats still supporting the new reactor despite their opposition last year. "There is always human error in any disaster. We can no longer afford the risk to the health and safety of residents of a nuclear reactor in the middle of a suburban bushfire-prone area", Rankin said.