KEY POINTS
- ANSTO is a Commonwealth statutory authority established by the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation Act 1987. The Act sets out ANSTO’s functions.
- As Australia's national nuclear research and development organisation and the centre of Australian nuclear expertise, ANSTO provides the Government with expert scientific and technical advice in areas such as Australia’s national strategic and nuclear policy objectives and radioactive waste management. ANSTO also manufactures radiopharmaceuticals for use in medical treatment and diagnosis, and operates national facilities for use by Australian researchers.
- For the 2007 – 2008 financial year, ANSTO’s normal appropriations by Parliament were approximately $152 million. In addition to this, Parliament provided ANSTO with a special equity injection for new policy proposals amounting to $32 million. Other revenues from sales of goods and services during the 2007 – 2008 financial year total approximately $45 million.
- The Organisation employs approximately 1000 staff from a range of skills bases, including science, engineering, information technology, communications, finance and administration.
- The ANSTO site is located at Lucas Heights in Sydney, New South Wales. ANSTO also has an office within the Australian embassies in Vienna, Austria and in Washington, United States of America, each of which has one seconded staff member and, in the US, one locally employed person.
- Key issues and election commitments to which ANSTO contributes include research into the potential impact of climate change on Australia, water management, alternative fuels (hydrogen storage), encouraging and facilitating the application of knowledge and ideas for a wide range of industry applications, providing advice and services to the Government on issues relevant to nuclear non-proliferation, and counter terrorism and regional security.
- ANSTO operates within the international science and research environment. The brand new research reactor (OPAL) is one of the most performance-efficient research reactors in the world and has twice the power of its predecessor (HIFAR), between four to 10 times the irradiation capability, and far superior neutron scattering abilities. OPAL will be in the top three such reactors in the world and several of its neutron scattering instruments will be the best in the world.
FACTS AND FIGURES
The Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) is a Commonwealth statutory authority established by the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation Act 1987, as successor to the Australian Atomic Energy Commission. The Australian Atomic Energy Commission was established in 1953 with the aim of using nuclear technology to promote national development. ANSTO is a body corporate and is subject to the provisions of the Commonwealth Authorities and Companies Act 1997.
ANSTO is Australia's national nuclear research and development organisation and the centre of Australia's nuclear expertise. It provides the Government with expert scientific and technical advice in such areas as Australia’s national strategic and nuclear policy objectives and radioactive waste management. ANSTO operates nuclear science and technology based facilities (including Australia’s only nuclear research reactor) for the benefit of industry and the Australian research community, including higher education. It conducts and applies environmental, materials engineering, and radiopharmaceutical research, as well as research in applications of neutron scattering and x-ray radiation. ANSTO also operates business units, most notably units producing and marketing radiopharmaceuticals for medical treatment and diagnosis, and providing services to the mining and minerals sector.
The Organisation employs approximately 1000 staff from a range of skills bases, including science, engineering, information technology, communications, finance and administration. ANSTO provides education and training to industry, universities and schools through the Australian Institute of Nuclear Science and Engineering (AINSE), post-doctoral fellowships, undergraduate training opportunities, school programs and community engagement.
Nuclear tools make a unique contribution to research into the potential impact of climate change on, and water management in, Australia, by measuring water age and flow. ANSTO’s neutron scattering capabilities enable Australian industry to develop and improve products and materials ranging from bread to metal components to hydrogen storage. The advice that ANSTO provides to Government and the services that the organisation provides to the International Atomic Energy Agency contribute to nuclear non-proliferation. ANSTO’s materials engineering expertise is used by infrastructure operators to assess the remaining life of their facilities, which is essential in infrastructure planning. ANSTO Minerals is supporting the growth of Australia’s mining industry through its expertise in radioactivity that naturally occurs in many mining and minerals activities.
ANSTO’s nuclear infrastructure includes the Open Pool Light-Water (OPAL) research reactor, particle accelerators, a national medical cyclotron, radiopharmaceutical production facilities, and a range of other unique research facilities. OPAL, Australia’s only nuclear reactor, is used to produce radioactive products for use in medicine, research and industry, as a source of neutron beams for scientific research and to irradiate silicon for semiconductor applications.