Topic 11 Nuclear technology in Australia

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Like all modern nations, Australian society uses radioactive materials every day, in all kinds of activities. How are nuclear technologies used in Australia? Which applications are not used? What social forces have influenced these patterns of development and use? What contributions has Australian science made to international developments? Australian scientists have conducted research in nuclear physics since the early discovery of radioactivity. However, our nuclear age began in earnest after World War II, when Australian scientists such as Phillip Baxter – the first head of the Australian Atomic Energy Commission (AAEC) – returned home from the wartime nuclear research, bringing with them both expertise and big ideas.

Figure 11.1 The old processing plant at Rum Jungle uranium mine, Northern Territory.

A nuclear quest

An early landmark in Australia's nuclear development was the discovery in 1948 of a major uranium deposit at Rum Jungle in the Northern Territory. The first of several uranium mines was established, with others to follow. Authorities hoped this uranium might one day fuel an Australian nuclear reactor, and provide a bargaining chip for acquiring this reactor technology from the US or Britain. A similar opportunity seemed to arise in 1951, when Britain approached the Australian Prime Minister in search of an isolated location to test and develop its new nuclear weapons. Atomic tests were conducted at Maralinga and Emu in South Australia until 1963, when the international Test Ban Treaty banned atmospheric nuclear explosions.

In 1953 the AAEC was established, and began planning Australia's first nuclear research reactor; to be provided by the UK. The High Flux Australian Reactor (HIFAR) began operation (ie ‘went critical’) at Lucas Heights on Australia Day 1958, amid great national pride and optimism. By 1960 the reactor had completed its testing phase and began full operations. It also began producing radioisotopes for Australian society, thus avoiding the need to import these from overseas. At around the same time, the AAEC began building other advanced radiation facilities for use in research, such as Australia's first particle accelerator.

Figure 11.2 The High Flux Australian Reactor arriving from the UK.

Figure 11.3 High Flux Australian Reactor became Australia's first nuclear reactor, but is due to be decommissioned in 2006.

Figure 11.4 The opening of the High Flux Australian Reactor on Australia Day 1958.

Freedom and power?

By the late 1960s there was considerable drive (including from the AAEC) for Australia to become a fully fledged nuclear power, with many nuclear reactors, and perhaps also nuclear weapons. A new British reactor was planned for Jervis Bay south of Sydney. It was to be a full-sized power reactor running on Australian uranium. This was before Australia's large coal deposits were discovered, so the case for nuclear power seemed more compelling. (It was also before the negative effects of massive fossil fuel use were fully realised.) Also, changes in public attitudes towards nuclear power had not yet made nuclear power as problematic an option as it is today.

Any desires for nuclear weapons at this time were probably spurred on (this was the height of the cold war) by China's first nuclear weapons test in 1964. Independent national security has been an appealing notion for Australian governments since the World War II, when Australia's reliance on British regional security proved extremely vulnerable. In the late 1960s Prime Minister Gorton resisted signing the new Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. There was no official indication that weapons-grade plutonium would or could be produced by the planned Jervis Bay reactor. It may be, however, that ambitions for a nuclear powered Australia were sunk by association with the possibility of nuclear weapons. Following a change in government, Australia signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and the Jervis Bay reactor was cancelled.

The ANSTO era

By the 1980s Australia had become a prominent global advocate for nuclear disarmament. Our nuclear scientists began directing all their energies towards developing facilities for basic research, medicine and industry. These new priorities were formally established in 1987, when the ANSTO Act replaced the outdated AAEC with the current Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO). This Act continues to set ANSTO's objectives and obligations. It establishes ANSTO as Australia's centre of nuclear scientific expertise, and our major provider of nuclear products and services. ANSTO is responsible for operating Australia's only research reactor and other advanced radiation facilities. It is also responsible for managing radioactive waste from its own operations.

ANSTO is specifically forbidden from researching or developing nuclear weapons technology. Aside from its use of nuclear fuel, ANSTO is not involved in uranium mining, except to provide advice in managing environmental impacts. This expertise has also been employed overseas, in rehabilitating contaminated sites in the UK and Germany. This is an example of ANSTO's vision to benefit all Australians and the international community, through innovative applications of nuclear science and technology. ANSTO's priorities also include engaging the Australian community in dialogue about its activities, and applying its expertise to improve environmental sustainability.

Figure 11.5 The new replacement research reactor will support eight neutron beam instruments.

Innovation and precaution

In the 1990s ANSTO continued to expand its facilities and expertise in nuclear science and high-energy physics. It built a new and powerful linear accelerator Australian National Tandem Accelerator for Applied Research (ANTARES), and a cyclotron for producing proton-rich medical radioisotopes (with the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Sydney).

Australian scientists continue to develop new knowledge and innovations to build on previous achievements. These include a portable device nicknamed ‘the cow’, which can be ‘milked’ to produce fresh quantities of the most useful medical isotope: technetium-99m. This is used in about 80% of medical imaging, but has a half-life of only 6 hours. The cow makes fresh technetium-99m readily available without the user needing to be located near the nuclear reactor.

Meanwhile, nuclear controversies continue in Australia, particularly over uranium mining, the management of radioactive waste and the place of nuclear reactors in Australian society. Negotiations continue over a site for the proposed national radioactive waste repository, with even more heated discussion of a possible (though unlikely, according to the Australian Government) international repository for high level radioactive waste. These controversies are linked to wider global debates over nuclear technology, as discussed in Topic 6 Current controversies. Although Australia is not a world nuclear power, we do make contributions in the global scientific and political development of nuclear science and technology. ANSTO contributes, for instance, to regional and international panels and organisations on these issues.

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