Manuwangku - Under The Nuclear Cloud
© Jagath Dheerasekara
Nominated In 2007, Muckaty
(Manuwangku), 120km north of Tennant Creek (Northern Territory,
Australia), is under assessment to build federal radio active waste storage facility.
There was no meaningful consultation with the Aboriginal Traditional Owners of
the land who maintain a deep spiritual and cultural connection to the area.
Supported by people across Australia, the community has engaged in protests and
launched legal action in the federal court to defend their right to live in a
clean and safe environment, free of hazardous waste.
At present, the majority of Australia’s long-lived intermediate radioactive waste (the highest level produced in Australia) is stored at the Lucas Heights nuclear reactor complex near Sydney.
If the proposed storage plan goes ahead, 3,820 cubic metres of low-level radioactive waste growing at the rate of 35 cubic metres per annum and 435 cubic metres of long-lived intermediate level radioactive waste growing at the rate of 3.5 cubic metres per annum will be transported from Lucas Heights to the site nominated in Manuwangku.
‘Manuwangku, Under the nuclear cloud’ is a portrayal of the community’s resilience in the face of an overwhelming conflict and an attempt to capture the determination of a people bound together through a common struggle to keep their traditional land free and safe.
Photographer Jagath Dheerasekara received the Amnesty International Human Rights Innovation Fund grant in 2010 to begin the work. Manuwangku, Under the Nuclear Cloud is a collaborative effort of Jagath Dheerasekara, Manuwangku Aboriginal elders and community, Amnesty International and Beyond Nuclear Initiative. For more information about Jagath's work, please visit http://jd.photoshelter.com
At present, the majority of Australia’s long-lived intermediate radioactive waste (the highest level produced in Australia) is stored at the Lucas Heights nuclear reactor complex near Sydney.
If the proposed storage plan goes ahead, 3,820 cubic metres of low-level radioactive waste growing at the rate of 35 cubic metres per annum and 435 cubic metres of long-lived intermediate level radioactive waste growing at the rate of 3.5 cubic metres per annum will be transported from Lucas Heights to the site nominated in Manuwangku.
‘Manuwangku, Under the nuclear cloud’ is a portrayal of the community’s resilience in the face of an overwhelming conflict and an attempt to capture the determination of a people bound together through a common struggle to keep their traditional land free and safe.
Photographer Jagath Dheerasekara received the Amnesty International Human Rights Innovation Fund grant in 2010 to begin the work. Manuwangku, Under the Nuclear Cloud is a collaborative effort of Jagath Dheerasekara, Manuwangku Aboriginal elders and community, Amnesty International and Beyond Nuclear Initiative. For more information about Jagath's work, please visit http://jd.photoshelter.com