Dumping nuclear burden
the Australian government is being bombarded with criticism for deciding to hand back a 3.2 lakh hectare (ha) site to its traditional aboriginal owners despite fresh evidence surfacing that the land is still toxic from nuclear tests conducted 40 years ago.
Maralinga, the tract in question, is located in the South Australian desert (see map) and is to be returned to the Tjarutja tribe. While the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Authority (arpansa) defends the move claiming it has followed the best practice in cleaning up the site, critics point out that parts of the land are not fit to inhabit.
In the 1960s the Australian government had evicted the aborigines from the land to allow the uk to develop nuclear bombs. Seven atomic bombs were exploded at Maralinga. Many development trials were also conducted at the three sites within Maralinga: Taranaki, tm and Wewak. Of these, Taranaki