In the 1990s and 2000s, Australian spent nuclear fuel that enabled generations of medicine production and environmental, minerals and health research at ANSTO was exported to France for reprocessing so it is suitable for permanent storage.
It is international best practice that countries such as Australia, whose health system and economy benefit from a nuclear program, have a responsibility to deal with the by-products. In line with both best practice and French law, the waste will leave France by the end of this year.
In May 2012, ANSTO announced it would apply for licences to construct an interim waste store for the remaining Australian waste, until the permanent Australian site, the National Radioactive Waste Management Facility, is sited and built. The process to site a national facility is now well underway.*
Following an expert review and a public consultation process in May 2013, the independent regulator, the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA), advised in November 2013 it had approved applications to site and construct the interim waste store. Construction is now being finalised.
The third license ANSTO requires is one to operate the interim waste store. ANSTO applied for this in November 2014. The regulator held another public consultation process which ended in January 2015. They have now announced that this application has been approved.
“ANSTO has decades of expertise in safely managing nuclear infrastructure and by-products. We thank the regulator for their detailed reviews, and for managing constructive public consultation processes over the past three years,” said a spokesperson for ANSTO.
The waste will be safely managed at ANSTO until the national facility is built, at which point it will transferred to that new facility. It is intended that the new building at Lucas Heights will then be repurposed for work associated with medicine production (subject to regulatory approval).
Links for more information
- For information on ARPANSA including details of the decision: www.arpansa.gov.au
- For information about a National Radioactive Waste Management Facility: www.industry.gov.au
- For more information on waste management: www.radioactivewaste.gov.au
*The Federal Government’s call for voluntary site nominations closed on 5 May 2015, and ANSTO understands that there has been an encouraging response from landholders. Nominated sites are now being assessed for shortlisting. More information is available here.