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The Greenpeace report 'Secrets, Lies and Uranium Enrichment: The classified Silex project at Lucas Heights' exposes the Government's support of uranium enrichment technology.
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Uranium enrichment technology is 'dual use' technology, meaning it can
also be used to produce materials for use in nuclear weapons.
In the Greenpeace report 'Secrets, Lies and Uranium Enrichment: The classified Silex project at Lucas Heights' it is revealed that the government funded Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) has worked on laser enrichment of uranium at Lucas Heights in Sydney since 1978.
It has also revealed that the company conducting enrichment research, Silex Systems Limited, has been involved in the project at ANSTO's Lucas Heights facility since 1990.
Silex is the only company in the world pursuing laser enrichment of uranium and claim their technology is to be used to create fuel for power reactors.
Former diplomat Richard Broinowski and author of 'Fact or Fission – the truth about Australia’s nuclear ambitions' has welcomed the report.
"It's a nonsense to suggest that laser enrichment of uranium only has a civil application," Mr Broinowski said.
"If you can enrich Uranium-235 by 10 per cent you can enrich it to higher percentages to make it weapons usable. The weapons application of this technology is being denied by both Silex and the Government."
The release of the report coincides with Australia hosting a meeting of the Proliferation Security Initiative, which aims to prevent the proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) by nations and terrorist groups.
Greenpeace nuclear campaigner, James Courtney, maintains that allowing laser enrichment technology to be developed at Lucas Heights seriously undermines the Government's commitment to the elimination of nuclear weapons.
"It is hypocritical of the Government to talk about playing 'a vital role in helping stop the spread of WMD, while allowing weapons-usable nuclear technology to be developed in Sydney.
"Greenpeace calls on the Australian Government to set an example to the rest of the world, by ending research into sensitive nuclear technologies that pose significant proliferation risks, such as the laser enrichment of uranium," said Mr Courtney.
In the Greenpeace report 'Secrets, Lies and Uranium Enrichment: The classified Silex project at Lucas Heights' it is revealed that the government funded Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) has worked on laser enrichment of uranium at Lucas Heights in Sydney since 1978.
It has also revealed that the company conducting enrichment research, Silex Systems Limited, has been involved in the project at ANSTO's Lucas Heights facility since 1990.
Silex is the only company in the world pursuing laser enrichment of uranium and claim their technology is to be used to create fuel for power reactors.
Former diplomat Richard Broinowski and author of 'Fact or Fission – the truth about Australia’s nuclear ambitions' has welcomed the report.
"It's a nonsense to suggest that laser enrichment of uranium only has a civil application," Mr Broinowski said.
"If you can enrich Uranium-235 by 10 per cent you can enrich it to higher percentages to make it weapons usable. The weapons application of this technology is being denied by both Silex and the Government."
The release of the report coincides with Australia hosting a meeting of the Proliferation Security Initiative, which aims to prevent the proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) by nations and terrorist groups.
Greenpeace nuclear campaigner, James Courtney, maintains that allowing laser enrichment technology to be developed at Lucas Heights seriously undermines the Government's commitment to the elimination of nuclear weapons.
"It is hypocritical of the Government to talk about playing 'a vital role in helping stop the spread of WMD, while allowing weapons-usable nuclear technology to be developed in Sydney.
"Greenpeace calls on the Australian Government to set an example to the rest of the world, by ending research into sensitive nuclear technologies that pose significant proliferation risks, such as the laser enrichment of uranium," said Mr Courtney.
