Uranium exposure has been linked to a variety of cancers and other life-threatening medical problems.

"The public in general and traditional owners in particular are entitled to reassurance the highest possible standards of safety and environment protection are in place," opposition Labor environment spokesman, Kelvin Thomson, said in a statement.

The inquiry was expected to report back by December on the regulatory, monitoring and reporting regimes governing uranium mines which have taken a hammering in the past year with a series of highly publicised leaks and accidents.

There are currently four uranium operations in Australia - the Beverley, Honeymoon, and Olympic Dam mines in the state of South Australia and Ranger in the Northern Territory - with about six more on the drawing board.

The Northern Territory government has already announced an environmental review of Rio Tinto's Ranger mine in the World Heritage-listed Kakadu National Park.

Rio subsidiary Energy Resources of Australia Ltd has said it is confident its operations are environmentally sound despite two incidents this year of mismanagement of stockpiled low-grade ore and delayed reporting of downstream uranium levels.

Last month the Beverley mine reported its fourth major spill of uranium-contaminated water this year, prompting a government review of the way miners of the hazardous metal operate.

The mine is owned by Heathgate Resources Ltd, a subsidiary of U.S.-based General Atomics.

But the worst recent leakage of potentially harmful solution occurred last December when 420,000 litres of mining slurry containing uranium escaped from a storage tank at the Olympic Dam mine, 500 kms (310 miles) north of Adelaide.

The spill was one of seven such incidents reported last year by mine operator WMC Ltd .

Environment groups, including the Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF), welcomed the inquiry which will be the Senate's third examination of uranium mining in the past five years.

"Uranium mines around the country have been leaking contaminants and credibility," ACF spokesman Dave Sweeney said in a statement.

Australia has no domestic use for uranium as it has no nuclear industry of its own, and the metal is mostly exported for use in nuclear power generation.