The independent nuclear regulator, the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA), has formally advised the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) that it has approved a licence application for a new building at its Lucas Heights campus.
In the 1990s and 2000s, fuel generated at ANSTO from 50 years of medicine production and enabling the effective diagnosis of heart disease, cancer and skeletal injuries of a whole generation of Australians, was exported to France for treatment so it is suitable for permanent storage.
As the treated Intermediate Level Waste must return in 2015, in May 2012 ANSTO announced plans for a purpose‐built store to temporarily hold the material until Australia’s National Radioactive Waste Management Facility is constructed. ANSTO has been encouraged by the strong progress the Federal Government is making on the path to establishing a national repository.
Following an expert review and a statutory public consultation process in May 2013, the independent nuclear regulator has today advised ANSTO that approval has been given for the license for this purpose-built facility.
“The fact is that Australia benefited from the fifty years of nuclear medicine production made possible by this material. Along with the benefits of ready access to a nuclear medicine diagnosis comes the responsibility to safely manage the by-products,” said an ANSTO spokesperson.
“ANSTO has 60 years of expertise in safely managing infrastructure in the Shire, and we thank the people who took the opportunity to input into this process, from the expert engineers who helped design the building to the community members who got involved in the consultation.”
Construction is scheduled to start before mid-2014 and be completed by the end of that year. The waste is scheduled to return from France in late 2015.