The Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) is a

statutory body A statutory body or statutory authority is a body set up by law (statute) that is authorised to implement certain legislation on behalf of the relevant country or state, sometimes by being Primary and secondary legislation, empowered or deleg ...

of the

Australian Government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government or simply as the federal government, is the national executive government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. The executive consists of the pr ...

that is responsible for

nuclear research Nuclear physics is the field of physics that studies atomic nuclei and their constituents and interactions, in addition to the study of other forms of nuclear matter. Nuclear physics should not be confused with atomic physics, which studies the ...

and the production of

radioisotopes A radionuclide (radioactive nuclide, radioisotope or radioactive isotope) is a nuclide that has excess numbers of either neutrons or protons, giving it excess nuclear energy, and making it unstable. This excess energy can be used in one of three ...

for

nuclear medicine Nuclear medicine (nuclear radiology, nucleology), is a medical specialty involving the application of radioactivity, radioactive substances in the diagnosis and treatment of disease. Nuclear imaging is, in a sense, ''radiology done inside out'', ...

. It was established in April 1987 to replace the former

Australian Atomic Energy Commission The Australian Atomic Energy Commission (AAEC) was a statutory body of the Australian Government devoted to nuclear science, engineering and research. It was established in 1952, replacing the Atomic Energy Policy Committee. In 1981, parts of th ...

(AAEC), which was founded in 1952. Its headquarters and main research facilities are on the southern outskirts of Sydney in Lucas Heights,

Sutherland Shire Sutherland Shire is a local government area (LGA) in the southern region of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Sutherland Shire is located approximately south-southwest of the Sydney CBD, and comprises an area of . As at the ...

Purpose

The Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation Act 1987 (Cth) prescribes its general purpose.

Mission statement

* To support the development and implementation of government policies and initiatives in nuclear and related areas, domestically and internationally * To operate nuclear science and technology based facilities, for the benefit of industry and the Australian and international research community * To undertake research that will advance the application of nuclear science and technology * To apply nuclear science, techniques, and expertise to address Australia 's environmental challenges and increase the competitiveness of Australian industry * To manufacture and advance the use of

radiopharmaceuticals Radiopharmaceuticals, or medicinal radiocompounds, are a group of pharmaceutical drugs containing radioactive isotopes. Radiopharmaceuticals can be used as diagnostic and therapeutic agents. Radiopharmaceuticals emit radiation themselves, which ...

which will improve the health of Australians

Structure

ANSTO is governed by The Hon Dr Annabelle Bennett. Penelope Dobson is the deputy chair. The CEO, Shaun Jenkinson, manages the organisation. ANSTO operates five research facilities: # OPAL research reactor # Centre for Accelerator Science # Australian Centre for Neutron Scattering # Cyclotron facility #

Australian Synchrotron The Australian Synchrotron is a 3 GeV national synchrotron radiation facility located in Clayton, Victoria, Clayton, in the south-eastern suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria. The facility opened in 2007, and is operated by the A ...

Major research instruments include: * The ANTARES particle accelerator * High-resolution neutron powder diffractometer,

ECHIDNA Echidnas (), sometimes known as spiny anteaters, are quill-covered monotremes (egg-laying mammals) belonging to the Family (biology), family Tachyglossidae , living in Australia and New Guinea. The four Extant taxon, extant species of echidnas ...

* High-intensity neutron powder diffractometer,

WOMBAT Wombats are short-legged, muscular quadrupedal marsupials of the family Vombatidae that are native to Australia. Living species are about in length with small, stubby tails and weigh between . They are adaptable and habitat tolerant, and are ...

* Strain scanner, KOWARI * Neutron reflectometer,

PLATYPUS The platypus (''Ornithorhynchus anatinus''), sometimes referred to as the duck-billed platypus, is a semiaquatic, egg-laying mammal endemic to eastern Australia, including Tasmania. The platypus is the sole living representative or monotypi ...

ANSTO also manufactures

and performs commercial work such as silicon doping by

nuclear transmutation Nuclear transmutation is the conversion of one chemical element or an isotope into another chemical element. Nuclear transmutation occurs in any process where the number of protons or neutrons in the nucleus of an atom is changed. A transmutat ...

Nuclear reactors

ANSTO has two

nuclear Nuclear may refer to: Physics Relating to the nucleus of the atom: *Nuclear engineering *Nuclear physics *Nuclear power *Nuclear reactor *Nuclear weapon *Nuclear medicine *Radiation therapy *Nuclear warfare Mathematics * Nuclear space *Nuclear ...

research reactors Research reactors are nuclear fission-based nuclear reactors that serve primarily as a neutron source. They are also called non-power reactors, in contrast to power reactors that are used for electricity production, heat generation, or maritim ...

onsite: The High Flux Australian Reactor, or HIFAR, in operation from 1958 to 2007, and the

Open-pool Australian lightwater reactor The Open-pool Australian lightwater reactor (OPAL) is a 20 megawatt (MW) swimming pool reactor, swimming pool nuclear research reactor. Officially opened in April 2007, it replaced the High Flux Australian Reactor as Australia's only nuclea ...

(OPAL) designed by the

Argentine Argentines, Argentinians or Argentineans are people from Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical, or cultural. For most Argentines, several (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their ...

company

INVAP INVAP S.E. is an Argentine company that provides design, integration, construction and delivery of equipment, plants and devices. The company operates in North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, the Middle East and Africa, and delivers ...

. HIFAR was permanently shut down on 30 January 2007. The OPAL reactor came online in November 2006 and the facility was officially opened on 20 April 2007. A third, smaller unit, being a 100 kW

thermal A thermal column (or thermal) is a rising mass of buoyant air, a convective current in the atmosphere, that transfers heat energy vertically. Thermals are created by the uneven heating of Earth's surface from solar radiation, and are an example ...

Argonaut-class reactor named MOATA, was in operation between 1961 and 1995, before being decommissioned in 2009. The reactor was initially commissioned to train Australian nuclear scientists in the operation of HIFAR, but its envelope was later widened to include

neutron imaging Neutron imaging is the process of making an image with neutrons. The resulting image is based on the neutron attenuation properties of the imaged object. The resulting images have much in common with industrial X-ray images, but since the image i ...

and activation analysis, soil analysis, and radioisotopic medical research. Spent fuel from the reactors is transported to Port Kembla, then shipped to France for reprocessing. In 2017, ANSTO announced the creation of a NiMo-SiC alloy for use in

molten salt reactor A molten-salt reactor (MSR) is a class of nuclear fission reactor in which the primary nuclear reactor coolant and/or the fuel is a mixture of molten salt with a fissile material. Two research MSRs operated in the United States in the mid-20th ...

References

External links