On 13 May 2014, the delegate of the CEO of ARPANSA decided to issue a licence to the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) to prepare a site for, and construct a controlled facility (the ANSTO SyMo Facility) at the ANSTO Lucas Heights Science and Technology Centre.

Download a copy of the delegate of the CEO’s decision:

In making his decision, the delegate took into consideration the documentation submitted by ANSTO in support of the application as well as:

• the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Act 1998 (the Act) and Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Regulations 1999
• the Regulatory Assessment Report:
  
  SyMo Facility - Siting and construction licence - Regulatory Assessment Report
  
  
  SyMo Facility - Siting and construction licence - Regulatory Assessment Report
• regulatory guidance developed for applicants and ARPANSA assessors
• international best practice in radiation protection and nuclear safety as it relates to the applications
• the decision of the Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Populations and Communities on the proposed facility under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999
• the Radiation Protection Series suite of documents, developed to support and promote national uniformity in radiation protection and nuclear safety across Australian jurisdictions
• consultations on the application held with the ARPANSA Nuclear Safety Committee, and
• public submissions received during the public consultation period including issues raised during the community information session held at the Engadine Community Centre, Sutherland, on 16 May 2013.

The licence is subject to conditions as specified in section 35 of the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Act 1998.

The delegate of the CEO of ARPANSA has imposed the standard licence condition requiring quarterly reporting under section 35 (1) (c). The delegate of the CEO has also imposed a licence condition restricting ANSTO from undertaking any testing using radioactive material or full plant testing using non-radioactive material of the facility as part of the construction of the facility under this facility licence. ARPANSA proposes to authorise testing using radioactive material or full plant testing using non-radioactive material under the first phase of an operating licence authorisation, pending the results of a full scale trial.

The licence remains in force until it is cancelled or suspended under section 38 of the Act or until it is surrendered under section 39 of the Act.

On 27 June 2014, the CEO of ARPANSA decided to issue a licence to the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) to construct a controlled facility (the ANSTO ANM Facility) at the ANSTO Lucas Heights Science and Technology Centre.

Download a copy of the CEO’s decision:

In making his decision, the CEO took into consideration the documentation submitted by ANSTO in support of the application as well as::

• the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Act 1998 (the Act) and Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Regulations 1999
• Regulatory Assessment Report to Construct the ANM Facility:
  PDF 682 kb | Docx 223 kb
• regulatory guidance developed for applicants and ARPANSA assessors
• international best practice in radiation protection and nuclear safety as it relates to the applications
• the decision of the Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Populations and Communities on the proposed facility under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999
• the Radiation Protection Series suite of documents, developed to support and promote national uniformity in radiation protection and nuclear safety across Australian jurisdictions, and
• consultations on the application held with the ARPANSA Nuclear Safety Committee.

The licence is subject to conditions as specified in section 35 of the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Act 1998.

The CEO of ARPANSA has imposed the standard licence condition requiring quarterly reporting under section 35 (1) (c). The CEO has also imposed a licence condition stating that the Licence Holder must seek the approval for construction of any hot cells/cell containment, hydrogen gas and detection system and any cranes along with items identified as safety category 1 and safety category 2 in the Preliminary Safety Analysis Report (PSAR).

The licence remains in force until it is cancelled or suspended under section 38 of the Act or until it is surrendered under section 39 of the Act.

On 22 October 2014, the CEO of ARPANSA decided to issue an amendment to the facility licence for the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) to operate a controlled facility (the Open Pool Australian Lightwater (OPAL) Reactor) at the ANSTO Lucas Heights Science and Technology Centre.
Download a copy of the CEO’s decision:

In making his decision, the CEO took into consideration the documentation submitted by ANSTO in support of the application in addition to:

• the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Act 1998 (the Act) and Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Regulations 1999
• the Regulatory Assessment Report:
  PDF 614 kb | DOC 496 kb
• regulatory guidance developed for applicants and ARPANSA assessors
• international best practice in radiation protection and nuclear safety as it relates to the applications
• the Radiation Protection Series suite of documents, developed to support and promote national uniformity in radiation protection and nuclear safety across Australian jurisdictions, and
• consultations on the application held with the ARPANSA Nuclear Safety Committee:
  Request for Advice from the CEO of ARPANSA:
  PDF 195 kb | RTF 376 kb
  Nuclear Safety Committee - Advice to the CEO of ARPANSA:
  PDF 243 kb | RTF 807 kb

The licence is subject to conditions as specified in section 35 of the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Act 1998.

The CEO of ARPANSA has imposed the standard licence condition requiring quarterly reporting under section 35 (1) (c). The CEO has imposed a licence condition requiring the Licence Holder to submit a plan to implement the actions resulting from the first PSR in a form acceptable to the CEO of ARPANSA, and report on progress in implementing the plan on a six-monthly basis. The plan must include provisions for analysis of interdependencies between safety factors and a program to support continuous improvement in the safety culture, including regular surveys by an independent organisation of the safety culture within the operating organisation.

The CEO of ARPANSA has removed Licence Condition 7 and Licence Condition 13, which related to the safety culture and PSR of the OPAL reactor. He has now imposed a new licence condition requiring the Licence Holder to carry out a PSR that re-examines the safety of the OPAL Reactor, taking into account operating experience and international best practice in radiation protection and nuclear safety. A detailed plan for the PSR must be submitted to the CEO of ARPANSA no later than 30 November 2019. The plan and the subsequent PSR must follow the relevant regulatory guidance and must include an international peer review of safety of the OPAL reactor. A comprehensive report and supporting documentation on the findings of the PSR and resulting Action Plan must be submitted to the CEO of ARPANSA no later than 30 November 2021. The Licence Holder must subsequently perform PSRs at time intervals decided by the CEO of ARPANSA.

The licence remains in force until it is cancelled or suspended under section 38 of the Act or until it is surrendered under section 39 of the Act.

CEO decision - ANSTO Nuclear Medicine Molybdenum-99 facility

On 4 October 2013, the CEO of ARPANSA decided issue a licence to the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) to prepare a site for a controlled facility (the ANSTO Nuclear Medicine Molybdenum-99 Facility) at the ANSTO Lucas Heights Science and Technology Centre.

Download a copy of the CEO’s Statement of Reasons:

In making his decision the CEO of ARPANSA took into consideration the documentation submitted by ANSTO in support of the application as well as:

• the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Act 1998 (the Act) and Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Regulations 1999
• the Regulatory Assessment Report, and regulatory guidance material developed for applicants and for ARPANSA assessors, as referred to in the Regulatory Assessment Report:
  
  Regulatory Assessment Report: ANSTO ANM Mo-99 Facility (Siting)
  
  
  Regulatory Assessment Report: ANSTO ANM Mo-99 Facility (Siting)
• international guidance relevant to international best practice
• correspondence in relation to the decision of the Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Populations and Communities on the proposed facility not being a controlled action under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999
• the Radiation Protection Series suite of documents, developed to support and promote national uniformity in radiation protection and nuclear safety across Australian jurisdictions
• discussions on the subject held with the ARPANSA Nuclear Safety Committee, and
• submissions received during the public consultation period including issues raised during the community information session ARPANSA organised at the Engadine Community Centre, Sutherland, on 16 May 2013.

The licence is subject to the standard condition relating to compliance reporting, training and work practices but I have not imposed any special licence conditions relating specifically to the proposed facility.

The licence remains in force until it is cancelled or suspended under section 38 of the Act or until it is surrendered under section 39 of the Act.

The associated application to site and construct the ANSTO Sy-Mo prescribed radiation facility is currently under regulatory review.

Looking for more information?

If you'd like to know more about the applications or the process for review see the ANSTO Mo99 and SyMo application information and ANM Mo99 and ANSTO Sy-Mo Facility Licence Applications pages.

If you'd like to know more about the public consultation process that’s been undertaken or view the submissions and transcript from the public information session, see the Regulatory Services Public Consultation page.

Contact information

For media queries please contact: media@arpansa.gov.au