A shipment of used or spent nuclear fuel will be sent to the United States (US) in 2009 ANSTO advised today. The spent fuel will be permanently stored in the US and will not return to Australia. This is the final shipment of spent fuel resulting from operations of ANSTO’s two former research reactors.
“As a courtesy to local communities, ANSTO is informing relevant Councils and elected representatives in the Sydney-Illawarra region that a convoy of trucks carrying securely contained fuel elements may pass through their suburbs in the first half of 2009,” said Dr Ron Cameron, ANSTO’s Acting Chief Executive Officer.
“The exact details of the shipment of the used fuel cannot be disclosed for security reasons and US contract conditions,” he said. “The shipment will be conducted under strict international and national security and safety standards.”
It is important for media to note that due to US Government regulations and contractual security requirements, ANSTO cannot confirm shipment dates or routes until the used fuel has safely arrived at its US destination.
Due to the strict security commitments ANSTO will be unable to comment on the specific transport details when the shipment occurs.
The solid used fuel elements will travel to the US in a special purpose cargo ship designed to carry radioactive material. The elements will be safely and securely packed in purpose built sealed casks that have undergone rigorous testing to ensure they cannot be ruptured, even in he most severe accident.
These casks are then placed in special shipping containers for transport. The 159 used fuel elements in this shipment represent about five years of reactor operations, and during that time around 2.5 million patient nuclear medicine treatments were produced.
“This amounts to a significant contribution to Australian healthcare,” Dr Cameron said. ANSTO is working closely with the NSW Police, regulatory bodies Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA) and Australian Safeguards and Non-Proliferation Office (ASNO) and other relevant parties to prepare for this shipment.
Dr Cameron advised that the level of radioactivity detectable outside the heavily shielded casks is very low and marginally above natural background radiation levels.
“For example, if you stood right next to a cask you’d receive less radiation than you would be exposed to on an airline flight.
ANSTO is the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation, the country’s national nuclear research and development organisation and the centre of Australian nuclear expertise – over 70 per cent of all radioisotopes used in Australian nuclear medicine are made in ANSTO’s reactor.
“ASNO, ARPANSA, the Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism, relevant authorities and security and law enforcement agencies have each approved arrangements for the shipment,” he concluded.
This is ANSTO’s ninth shipment of used fuel since 1963 with previous transport to various places around the world occurring without incident. In the past 40 years there have been over 7000 shipments globally of used fuel, none of which resulted in the uncontrolled release of radioactivity to the public or the environment.
Published: 24/11/2008