Jim Hondros has more than 40 years ' experience working with the mining and minerals processing industry in the areas of radiation protection, environmental management, occupational health and safety and community relations.
Cameron Jeffries is a Principal Medical Physicist with South Australia Medical Imaging. He is a member of the IRPA Executive Council and Chair of the Australasian Radiation Protection Accreditation Board. He is a Past President and Fellow of the Australasian Radiation Protection Society.
Australia is a Federation of States and Territories with varying radiation protection legislative requirements across the different jurisdictions. This has resulted in a complex set of slightly different radioactive waste management requirements across the country.
Safety Agency( ARPANSA) which are aligned to the publications of the International Atomic Energy Agency( IAEA). There are varying approaches to the implementation of the national approach between the State and Territory jurisdictions- for example differences in approval and disposal requirements.
As well as specific State and Territory requirements, the federal government is required to assess and approve any radioactive waste disposal facility under the Commonwealth Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act.
Despite many attempts, there is no national repository for radioactive waste in Australia, and the wastes tend to be managed and stored where they are produced, which is highly unsatisfactory. In Western Australia, a commercial radioactive waste facility has been established which is available for receipt and disposal of low-level radioactive waste, however, the majority of generated low-level waste still remains in discrete locations across the country.
The main forms of radioactive waste in Australia include:
- Medical isotopes and radiopharmaceuticals- Industrial gauges- Naturally Occurring Radioactive Material( NORM) wastes from mining, mineral processing and oil and gas operations
In general, there is a national approach to radioactive waste guided by the Codes of Practice and Standards published by the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear
Processing plant at lithium mine in Western Australia. The mining and processing of rare earths is associated with exposure to NORM.
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