Australia's nuclear agency welcomes 2015-16 Budget

The federal government has announced $193 million for the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO), enabling expansion of its critical nuclear medicine production program and cutting-edge environmental, health and industrial research.

ANSTO undertakes its world-respected mandate over three campuses at Sydney’s Lucas Heights, the Australian Synchrotron in Melbourne and a Medical Cyclotron in Camperdown in inner Sydney.

The Budget includes $20.5 million to secure operation in 2016-17 of the Australian Synchrotron against the backdrop of a strategic review that will pave a long-term, coordinated funding path for science infrastructure across the country.

“The synchrotron demonstrates some of the very best in applied science - it is a facility available to researchers so they can improve our lives,” said an ANSTO spokesperson.

“Its outputs include devising higher yield crops, new medicines, better manufacturing methods and improvements for the minerals industry, and this funding ensures this important work will continue.”

The Budget also includes $49.1 million over the Forward Estimates to deliver new infrastructure at ANSTO’s Lucas Heights campus. The spokesperson said the new funding “secures our ability to continue to produce nuclear medicines needed by one in two Australians, provide insight into conditions such as heart disease, Alzheimer’s and cancer, understand the environment and partner with industries to solve their problems”.

$22.3 million over four years will allow ANSTO to extend and retrofit two existing waste storage facilities. Once a National Radioactive Waste Management Facility is established, the buildings will enable characterisation and packaging of waste that is then sent to that facility.

“There are three things happening in parallel here,” said the spokesperson.

“ANSTO has increasing domestic and global demand for our nuclear medicines; we need to increase capacity to safely manage associated by-products; and we need to prepare for the availability of national waste facility. This funding will allow us to do all three.”

Another $26.8 million over four years has been allocated to pack, ship and return Australian waste being reprocessed in the UK no earlier than mid-2019.

“This funding will get planning underway to repatriate waste currently being stored at the Sellafield plant in the UK, after Australia sent spent fuel to the UK for treatment,” said the spokesperson. “Sellafield is expected to cease exports of customers’ waste in the next decade.

“The intention is the UK waste would be sent directly to the National Radioactive Waste Management Facility - but if it is not established by then, ANSTO has the expertise, skills and, subject to regulatory approval, capacity to store this container alongside the one coming from France this financial year.”