Nuclear Safety Bureau. Annual Report 1997-1998

In accordance with its legislative functions, during the year the Nuclear Safety Bureau (NSB) continued to monitor and review the safety of nuclear plant operated by the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO), to provide advice to the Commonwealth and to participate in national and international fora on nuclear safety and regulatory matters. ANSTO completely revised and published two major items of the reactor safety documentation, following NSB review and agreement. They provide substantial additions to the safety knowledge of the High Flux Australian Reactor (HIFAR) and practical improvements to the safety of its operations. In order to monitor ANSTO's nuclear plant, bureau officers attended, as observers, the accreditation interviews of all key reactor operating personnel and also attended meetings of the liaison committee, which coordinates involvement of local, State and Commonwealth agencies in emergency arrangements for the Lucas Heights Science and Technology Centre (LHSTC). The bureau also reviewed a submission from ANSTO for the siting of the proposed reactor against the bureau's siting assessment principles, which include, in part, that the calculated consequences of a hypothetical accident at a proposed facility satisfy the bureau's siting criteria. It was concluded that, in principle, a modern pool reactor with a power level of 20 MW, located safely at the Lucas Heights site, could meet the bureau's radiological siting criteria. From 1 July 1997, the NSB is designated a Competent Authority, under the Environment Protection (Nuclear Codes) Act 1978, for the land transport of radioactive material undertaken by the Commonwealth. During the year, the NSB has also reviewed its hypothetical accident and radiological criteria for assessing the suitability of Australian ports for visits by nuclear powered warships