Friends of the Earth Brisbane
Food Irradiation Watch
PO Box 5702 West End Qld 4101
Mobile: 0411 118 737
For Immediate Release
July 15 2006
Sustainability students to inspect Narangba industrial estate
Narangba Sustainability Walk
Date: Saturday July 15, 2006
Time: 1pm
Meeting point: 43 McPhail Street, Narangba Qld
Students from the 2006 Students of Sustainability conference will be visiting the Narangba Industrial Estate today to see, first hand, the destruction of toxic and nuclear industrial development in our community.
A major focus of today’s visit is the Steritech nuclear irradiation plant, now operating in the industrial estate. The Steritech plant, which houses up to 3,000,000 curies of radioactive Cobalt-60 stored in a containment pool out the back, uses gamma radiation from the rods to irradiate consumer products, including food.
Sustainability students will be looking in to the ramifications of such a development in an environmentally sensitive wetlands area and close to housing developments.
The visit is the first stop on the Queensland Environmental Awareness Tour, which will be leaving Brisbane today on its way up to Townsville, visiting sites of major environmental concern along the way.
At Narangba the students will have the opportunity to meet residents involved in current class action over toxic development in the industrial estate and long-term campaigners involved in action stop the Steritech nuclear irradiation plant.
The students will embark on a walking tour of the industrial estate, examining the environmental and social impacts of toxic and nuclear development.
Friends of the Earth and Food Irradiation Watch will be joining the students to highlight the far-reaching impacts of food irradiation in Australia and working with students and the community to explore sustainable solutions.
The walking tour will be followed by a chemical and irradiation-free picnic featuring music by Penelope Swales.
The community is invited to attend both the walk and the picnic.
For more information:
Friends of the Earth & Food Irradiation Watch: 0411 118 737