Visits to Australia by nuclear powered or armed vessels: contingency planning for the accidental release of ionizing radiation

The report refers to the adequacy of current contingency planning by the Australian Federal and Senate authorities to deal with the accidental release of ionizating radiation from visiting nuclear powered or armed vessels in Australian waters and ports. Much of the material was obtained in response to questions put in writing by the Senate Standing Committee to the Department of Defence, ANSTO and others. In addition, the report contains relevant information from Commonwealth documents as well as the Committee findings and recommendations. Issues considered include: types of visiting nuclear powered vessels, accident likelihood and consequences, differences between naval and land-based reactors, safety records. The persons or organizations who made submissions or appeared in all public hearings are listed in the appendixes, along with all visits to Australian ports by nuclear powered warships from 1976 to 1988