The Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) is a statutory body of the Australian government, formed in 1987 to replace the

Australian Atomic Energy Commission The Australian Atomic Energy Commission (AAEC) was a statutory body of the Australian government. It was established in 1952, replacing the Atomic Energy Policy Committee. In 1981 parts of the Commission were split off to become part of CSIRO, t ...

. Its head office and main facilities are in southern outskirts of Sydney at

Lucas Heights Lucas Heights is a suburb in southern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is near to the Royal National Park. Geography It is located 31 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government ...

, in the

Sutherland Shire Sutherland Shire is a local government area in the southern region of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Sutherland Shire comprises an area of and as at the had an estimated population of . Sutherland Shire is colloquially ...

Purpose

The Australian Nuclear Science & Technology Organisation (ANSTO) is Australia's national nuclear organisation and the centre of Australian nuclear expertise. The Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation Act 1987 (Cth) prescribes its general purpose. The purpose is translated into action through corporate drivers of vision, mission and strategic goals.

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 is ...

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 ANSTO's Australian Synchrotron is a 3 GeV national synchrotron radiation facility located in Clayton, in the south-eastern suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria, which opened in 2007. ANSTO's Australian Synchrotron is a light source facility (in cont ...

Major research instruments include: * Particle accelerator,

ANTARES Antares is the brightest star in the constellation of Scorpius. It has the Bayer designation α Scorpii, which is Latinised to Alpha Scorpii. Often referred to as "the heart of the scorpion", Antares is flanked by σ Scorpii and τ ...

* High-resolution neutron powder diffractometer,

ECHIDNA Echidnas (), sometimes known as spiny anteaters, are quill-covered monotremes (egg-laying mammals) belonging to the family Tachyglossidae . The four extant species of echidnas and the platypus are the only living mammals that lay eggs and the ...

* High-intensity neutron powder diffractometer,

WOMBAT Wombats are short-legged, muscular quadrupedal marsupials that are native to Australia. They are about in length with small, stubby tails and weigh between . All three of the extant species are members of the family Vombatidae. They are ada ...

* Strain scanner,

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

* 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 mono ...

ANSTO also manufactures

and performs commercial work such as silicon doping by nuclear transmutation.

Nuclear reactors

ANSTO currently has two

nuclear reactor A nuclear reactor is a device used to initiate and control a fission nuclear chain reaction or nuclear fusion reactions. Nuclear reactors are used at nuclear power plants for electricity generation and in nuclear marine propulsion. Heat fr ...

s onsite:

HIFAR The High Flux Australian Reactor (HIFAR) was Australia's first nuclear reactor. It was built at the Australian Atomic Energy Commission (later ANSTO) Research Establishment at , Sydney. The reactor was in operation between 1958 and 2007, when i ...

and the

OPAL Opal is a hydrated amorphous form of silica (SiO2·''n''H2O); its water content may range from 3 to 21% by weight, but is usually between 6 and 10%. Due to its amorphous property, it is classified as a mineraloid, unlike crystalline forms ...

from the Argentine 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. OPAL became operational in November 2006 and was officially opened 20 April 2007. Spent fuel from the reactors is transported to

Port Kembla A port is a maritime law, maritime facility comprising one or more Wharf, wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge Affreightment, cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can a ...

, 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 molten salt mixture. Only two MSRs have ever operated, both research reactors in the United States. The 1950's ...

References

External links