This evening and in the year the IAEA turns 50, nuclear science and technology will be highlighted at the official opening of an ANSTO sponsored exhibition called Nuclear Matters at the Powerhouse Museum, Sydney.
Mr Andrew Humpherson, ANSTO’s General Manager Public Affairs, said the exhibition will give the public a unique opportunity to gain a greater understanding about the role nuclear science plays in our lives.
“The exhibition will give people the chance to really come to grips with what nuclear science is and understand that radioactivity, for example, is part of our lives and around us all the time. The important role that nuclear science plays in understanding our world is growing year by year.
“Nuclear tools can help us understand many things, from how our climate works, to diagnosing and treating diseases, to how a particular material responds to heat or external forces, right down to the atomic level,” he said.
“The exhibition aims to educate the community and increase public awareness and knowledge about the many applications of nuclear science, including the generation of power.
“The exhibition not only looks at science and technology, but changes in social attitudes over the last century. It touches on the early 20th century support for radioactive products to today’s divided views on all things nuclear, including the politics, economics and sustainability.
“It is significant to ANSTO that this exhibition launch coincides with the 50th anniversary this month of the IAEA, the international body that ensures non-proliferation and which Australia has been a mainstay of for 50 years as a founding member,” said Mr Humpherson.
“ANSTO plays a key international role serving the IAEA in a number of areas, from analysing overseas samples to track clandestine nuclear activity, to playing a decision-making role on the IAEA Board.”
Australia has been a member of the IAEA Board of Governors continually since it was established in 1957 and this reflects the high credibility of Australian nuclear science and technology and the active roles Australia plays in global nuclear safeguards.
The exhibition is divided into five areas:
- Nuclear basics
- Nuclear in our lives including nuclear medicines and internal body scanning
- Nuclear sciences
- Nuclear power generation
- Nuclear perspectives which includes changes in social attitudes over the last century