ARPANSA - Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency

22 January 2008

INVITATION TO MAKE SUBMISSIONS

ARPANSA Radiation Protection Series
Draft Safety Guide for the Predisposal Management of Radioactive Waste

The Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency is inviting submissions on the Draft Safety Guide for the Predisposal Management of Radioactive Waste.

The Guide provides information on measures that will assist regulators, persons responsible for facilities that generate and manage radioactive waste, and other specialists, in ensuring that predisposal management of radioactive waste is performed safely, with no adverse effect upon public health or the environment. The information in the draft Safety Guide is advisory and does not include regulatory requirements.

This Safety Guide applies to the predisposal management of the following radioactive wastes:

• Low and intermediate level radioactive waste from operations such as research reactors, radioisotope production facilities, and from medical, educational, research, industrial and commercial uses of radioactive materials.
• Low level radioactive wastes that with temporary storage will decay to levels suitable for disposal as very low level radioactive waste.

This Safety Guide does not apply to the management of spent reactor fuel, and operational wastes managed at mining and mineral processing sites to which the Code of Practice and Safety Guide for Radiation Protection and Radioactive Waste Management in Mining and Mineral Processing (ARPANSA 2005) applies.

The draft publication was developed by the Radiation Health Committee, as part of the Committee’s role in formulating draft national policies, codes and standards for consideration by the Commonwealth, States and the Territories. A consultative group involving a range of stakeholders also contributed to the development of the Safety Guide. As the Safety Guide is advisory in nature, a regulatory impact statement has not been prepared. This Safety Guide, when finalised, will be published as part of ARPANSA's Radiation Protection Series of publications.

The following documents provide essential information to assist the submission process:

• Invitation to comment (28k PDF)
• Public Consultation Draft Safety Guide for the Predisposal Management of Radioactive Waste (286k PDF)

Requests for hardcopies can be made by email to secretariat@arpansa.gov.au or by telephoning (03) 9433 2339.

Submissions should be forwarded by 14 March 2008 and addressed to:

Mr Alan Melbourne
Manager, Standards Development and Committee Support Section
ARPANSA
619 Lower Plenty Road
Yallambie VIC 3085
Or by email to: secretariat@arpansa.gov.au
(Electronic submissions are preferred)

All submissions will be held in a register of submissions, and unless marked confidential, may be made public.

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