Call for decisions over nuclear waste and facilities

There is a need for firm decisions, along with appropriate funding for dealing with the nation’s ageing nuclear facilities, experts say.

The Lucas Heights nuclear reactor in Sydney.

An international review team has called on the Australian gov­ernment to decide the fate of ­ageing nuclear facilities and resolve ­uncertainty over waste management.

After a series of incidents at Lucas Heights in Sydney, and several delayed waste projects, 20 experts convened by the Inter­national Atomic Energy Agency visited Australia last year and published their report yesterday.

The review team’s recommendations include that the commonwealth “take actions with specific milestones to ­address decommissioning of ­facilities and radioactive waste management by assuring the strategies, programs, funding and technical expertise for safe completion are in place”.

It follows a separate review of problems at ­Building 23, run by the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation, which noted a lack of government funding for a replacement ­facility.

ANSTO has suggested a new facility would come with a $200 million tag and be delivered over a five to 10-year timeframe.

There have also been delays choosing the site of Australia’s first nuclear waste dump and in the commissioning of a liquid waste facility at Lucas Heights.

The liquid waste facility was part of a $168.9m project to build a new nuclear medicine plant, known as ANM. That plant is running two years behind schedule — and the SyMo waste facility has been pushed back to 2021.

ANSTO has already contributed an extra $30m for the project, suggesting a further budget blowout is likely.

The review team also recommended a series of improvements to Australia’s safety, inspection and enforcement regime.

“The most significant challenge to Australia is establishing a national framework for radiation safety that assures a consistent level of safety and protection of people and the environment,” the report states.

The Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency will work with the relevant commonwealth departments and state and territory regulators to respond to the recommendations.