The Eyre Peninsula's clean, green farming image could be damaged if a proposed nuclear waste dump goes ahead, a regional mayor says.
The federal government has short-listed six sites for a nuclear waste dump, including three in South Australia.
Two sites are west of Whyalla and another is north of Port Augusta.
Kimba Mayor Dean Johnson, whose district covers the two Eyre Peninsula sites, will next week tour the Lucas Heights nuclear facility on a fact-finding mission.
"The concerns are around agriculture, which is our main industry. There is a concern we'll damage our clean, green image," Mr Johnson told AAP on Friday.
"We don't want to base any of our decisions on fear. We want to base them on facts."
SA Premier Jay Weatherill says findings from the Royal Commission into the Nuclear Fuel Cycle will guide SA's response to the proposal.
Current state legislation does not allow for the establishment of a nuclear waste storage facility but that could change depending on the commission's recommendations.
Port Augusta Mayor Sam Johnson says the proposal raises both concerns and opportunities for nearby towns.
But the more he learns about it, the more the "fear factor is decreasing".
"We're going to explore this. We're going to look at all the positives that's involved in a nuclear-based industry and we're also going to look at all the negatives," Mr Johnson said.
The Conservation Council of South Australia says the federal government is yet to release detailed maps showing the exact locations of short-listed sites.
"Worried members of the community are not being given enough information to work out whether [site] areas are in conservation areas," chief executive Craig Wilkins said.
"It feels like they are stage-managing the release of information."
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