History
An introduction (1948 - 2006)
Some of the major milestones involving ANSTO are outlined below.
January 1948
In an event which was to have considerable later bearing on the operations of the Australian Atomic Energy Commission (AAEC), later ANSTO, a Mr J M White, was paid the maximum award of $25 000 for discovering an ore of major economic importance. White discovered the Rum Jungle uranium deposit in the Northern Territory.
17 April 1953
Members of the Australian Atomic Energy Agency Commission (ANSTO's predecessor) were appointed by the Governor-General. In a statutory sense, the operation of the AAEC began on this day. The Atomic Energy Act 1953, designed to bring together all matters connected with atomic energy in one piece of legislation, became law two days before.
1954
A decision was taken by the AAEC that its proposed site for Australia's first nuclear reactor should be changed. Lucas Heights was substituted for Maroubra.
The annual report of the AAEC for that year noted: "Although it is only about 20 miles from the centre of Sydney, the area within which it is situated is entirely unoccupied, the nearest habitations being about one and a quarter miles away. (Sutherland Shire had 64 000 residents at the time. It had 202 158 residents in 2001.)
The report estimated that the research laboratories at Lucas Heights would cost 1.5 million pounds to build.
November 1955
Construction commenced on the Lucas Heights Research Laboratories site.
26 January 1958
Criticality, which is a self-sustaining chain reaction splitting atoms, was first achieved at the HIFAR reactor at 11. l5 pm on Australia Day, 26 January 1958. A nuclear reactor is a structure in which a fission chain reaction can be maintained and controlled.
18 April 1958
The official opening of the Lucas Heights Research Establishment was carried out by the then Prime Minister of Australia, the Right Hon R G Menzies.
1960
Full power routine operation of HIFAR commenced in February, after a prolonged period of testing and exhaustive checks of instruments, controls and radiation safety.
During the last quarter of the year, general radioisotope production commenced. Industrial and medical diagnostic radioisotopes, made and delivered to order, came on line. Australia has one of the world's longest established domestic radioisotope industries.
10 April 1961
A small 100kw experimental reactor commenced operation, being taken to the critical state at 5.50 am. It is called by the Aboriginal name, Moata, meaning gentle firestick. (Operations of Moata ended on May 31, 1995 and the reactor has been decommissioned)
1961 AAEC commissioned its first accelerator - the 3MeV Van de Graaff. This device accelerates charged atomic particles to very high speeds to determine the structure and composition of materials.
June 1971
Although some preliminary site works had begun, the Commonwealth Government decided to defer further consideration of a nuclear power station at Jervis Bay , and anywhere else in Australia.
1978
A collaborative joint venture was started with the AAEC and the Australian National University to research the suitability of synroc, (synthetic rock) invented by the late Professor Ted Ringwood at the ANU, to immobilise and store high level nuclear waste.
A full synroc demonstration (pilot) plant was established in 1988 to initiate testing of Australia's answer to locking up high level nuclear waste.
1984
A sterile version of the technetium-99 generator was developed and marketed to extend the availability of the most commonly used isotope in nuclear medicine to hospitals and clinics across Australia. The isotope, technetium-99m, has a half-life of six hours, and can only be produced in a nuclear research reactor.
This greatly increased the market availability not only by increasing the time before the isotope was rendered impotent, but by enabling AAEC to transport bulk deliveries round Australia and overseas.
1985
AAEC began irradiating silicon in the HIFAR reactor for the Japanese semiconductor industry. This market has greatly increased over the years and is a good money earner for ANSTO and Australia.
27 April 1987
The Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) came into being, successor to the AAEC. Professor Dick Collins became ANSTO's Chairman. He had been Chairman of the Review Committee in 1986 reviewing the AAEC's activities with a view to reform.
In 1987 ANSTO was asked by the Government to coordinate a two-year program of six studies into the residual contamination at the former United Kingdom nuclear test sites at Maralinga and Emu.
30 September 1991
Opening of the Australian National Tandem Accelerator for Applied Research ANTARES by the Minister for Science and Technology, the Hon Ross Free.
This linear accelerator was purchased from Rutgers University in the USA and rebuilt at ANSTO to world class standards. It is now known all over the world as a specialist accelerator for isotope analysis, including carbon dating.
30 October 1991
Official opening of Australian Supercomputing Technology.
Senator John Button, the then Minister for Industry, Technology and Commerce opened the supercomputer, a joint venture agreement between ANSTO and Fujitsu Australia Pty Ltd, who supplied the computer.
13 March 1992
The Governor General, the Hon Bill Hayden, A.C, opened the Australian National Medical Cyclotron, (NMC) a joint venture between ANSTO and the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital.
The NMC specifically produces very short-lived isotopes which must be given to the patient quickly (sometimes within minutes) after production. For this reason the NMC is built adjacent to the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital at Camperdown.
1992
ANSTO was contracted to assist in the rehabilitation of part of the area of Eastern Germany, WISMUT.
When the former Warsaw bloc collapsed and Soviet military forces withdrew, they left a large legacy of contaminants from uranium mines operated in the states of Thuringia and Saxony. ANSTO's expertise in uranium processing, waste treatment and rehabilitation has been used since 1992 to help establish the scope of the problem and potential solutions in the very large cleanup being undertaken by the German Government.
1993
The Research Reactor Review, commissioned by the Federal Government to ascertain the need for a replacement reactor for ANSTO, recommended that a decision should be made in five years time, "when the relative arguments relating to spallation sources, cyclotrons and reactors might be clearer, and when Australia's scientific neutron scattering performance is more evident".
The review also emphasised: "There are no safety, health, community risk or other reasons to close HIFAR. A technical probabilistic risk assessment is desirable, to assess its remaining life potential, but its remaining life is not likely to be less than a decade".
1994/95
A review of the Mission of ANSTO was commissioned by its board. The Mission Review noted that ANSTO had undergone enormous change since it was founded in 1953.
The ANSTO Board adopted the Mission Review's recommendations that ANSTO's major objectives should be to: support the Federal Government's nuclear policies; support industrial competitiveness and innovation through technology transfer; maintain a high quality nuclear science base; and enable academic institutions and other science organisations to perform research by providing access to unique facilities and expertise.
In line with this, a restructuring of the organisation began to implement the suggested changes. The strongest emphasis was placed on multidisciplinary approaches, using all the relevant skills of ANSTO, to deliver outstanding science and benefits to stakeholders.
2002
ANSTO signed a contract with the Argentinean company INVAP S.E. and its Australian alliance partners, John Holland Construction and Engineering Pty Ltd and Evans Deakin Industries Limited for the design, construction and commissioning of the replacement research reactor (now known as OPAL) on 13 July 2000. The Government indicated that it has budgeted $286.4 million (1997 value) for the replacement reactor.
The Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA) issued a licence to construct the reactor on 5 April 2002. At this time, it is expected that commissioning of the replacement reactor will occur in 2005.
April 2003
ANSTO celebrated 50 years since the Atomic Energy Act, 1953, was passed by the Federal Government. This Act enabled the construction of Australia?s first nuclear reactor, the research reactor HIFAR, and the institution of the Australian Atomic Energy Commission, now known as ANSTO, the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation.
February 2004
Market research commissioned by ANSTO showed that 88 per cent of Australians believe Australia needs nuclear science and technology capabilities, with 63 per cent of local residents saying they felt safe living near the facility.
The research found that 76 per cent of respondents, when prompted, recognised ANSTO was involved in medical research and technology and scientific research, with 50 per cent being aware of its environmental research.
October 2004
ANSTO environmental scientist Professor Ann Henderson-Sellers was recognised as being one of the world's best scientists with an accolade from the Institute of Science Information. Only 0.5% of the world's publishing researchers are celebrated in this way.
January 2005
ANSTO's replacement research reactor was officially named OPAL, a name designed to reflect premium quality and its Australian birthplace, by the Federal Minister for Education, Science and Training, Dr Brendan Nelson.
Dr Nelson also officially launched STAR - Small Tandem for Applied Research - accelerator, a scientific instrument used for nuclear-based analyses in the fields related to the environment, archaeology, heritage, biology and materials.
April 2005
An agreement between Nexia Solutions, a British Nuclear Fuels Group company, and ANSTO, to utilise the latter's radioactive waste immobilisation technology - better known as synroc - was signed. This will ensure that up to five tonnes of legacy plutonium waste residues currently stored at Sellafield in England will eventually be permanently locked up in a solid form.
April 2005
The world's leading physicists, chemists and engineers attended the Eighth International Conference on Neutron Scattering in Sydney, reporting on the latest developments in the analysis of organic and inorganic structures at the atomic and molecular levels. The conference showcased the new neutron-producing reactor, OPAL, to potential world users.
February 2006
ANSTO commenced cold commissioning for the new research reactor, OPAL. This involves testing all reactor systems and equipment without loading nuclear fuel.
July 2006
A licence was granted allowing ANSTO to load OPAL's nuclear fuel and operate the reactor.
August 2006
The first loading of uranium fuel into OPAL Research Reactor as part of the further commissioning of the reactor was undertaken, marking an historic moment for Australian science
"Neutron beam research facilities at the OPAL reactor will be in the top three world-wide, and the loading of fuel allows the production of the first neutrons. It's a very exciting time," said ANSTO Executive Director, Dr Ian Smith.