ARPANSA - Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency

OPAL Reactor Project

In September 1997, following several major reviews into Australia's nuclear science and technology needs, the Commonwealth Government decided to fund a proposal by ANSTO to replace the aging HIFAR (High Flux Australian Reactor) research reactor. The provision of funding was subject to, amongst other things, approval of the site and the design, approval of each major component of the nuclear plant, and an approval to operate by the CEO of ARPANSA. The following pages provide information on the licensing process and decisions made by the CEO for this project.

Stage 1 - Siting Licence

On 7 April 1999, the CEO of ARPANSA received an application from ANSTO for a facility licence authorising the preparation of a site for the proposed replacement research reactor. The CEO issued a Licence for this purpose on 22 September 1999. The CEO issued a statement describing his reasoning in making the decision to issue the licence.

• Siting Licence Process

Stage 2 - Construction Licence

The next stage of the process was for ANSTO to submit an application for a facility licence authorising construction of the facility. On receipt of the application, ARPANSA performed a comprehensive safety evaluation of the proposal. This safety evaluation took into account world's best practice, advice from experts in the field, results of an International Peer Review of the Preliminary Safety Analysis Report (PSAR), and the views and concerns of individuals and organisations from the public arena. The CEO issued a licence to construct on 4 April 2002 along with a statement outlining his reasons for doing so.

• Construction Licensing Process
  • Application for Construction
  • The Preliminary Safety Analysis Report (PSAR) Summary
  • International Peer Review of Preliminary Safety Analysis Report (PSAR)
  • Nuclear Safety Committee Report
  • ANSTO's Responses to Questions Raised by ARPANSA During the Reactive Review Process
  • Security
  • Regulatory Assessment Report (RAR)
  • Issue of Licence
• Significant Events in the Construction Licensing Process
  • Faulting on Replacement Research Reactor Site
  • Reactor Pool Liner Repair
• Public Consultation Process on Construction Licence
• OPAL Construction and Stage A Commissioning Executive Summary Report (PDF 112kb) This report has been submitted to the CEO of ARPANSA as part of ANSTO’s demonstration of compliance with the construction licence for OPAL (the replacement research reactor) as well as a supporting document for the application for a licence to operate OPAL.

Stage 3 - Operating Licence

• Operating Licensing Process
  • Application for Operating Licence
  • Public Consultation
  • Nuclear Safety Committee Report
  • IAEA Peer Review Missions
• OPAL Construction and Stage A Commissioning Executive Summary Report (PDF 112kb) This report has been submitted to the CEO of ARPANSA as part of ANSTO’s demonstration of compliance with the construction licence for OPAL (the replacement research reactor) as well as a supporting document for the application for a licence to operate OPAL.
• Issue of Operating Licence
  • Operating Licence issued to ANST (PDF 854kb)
  • Statement by the CEO on the reasons for issuing the Operating Licence(PDF 747kb)
  • Media Release

Modified Fuel Design For OPAL Reactor

On 1 May 2008, the CEO of ARPANSA, Dr John Loy, announced that he had approved a submission from the ANSTO for a modified design of reactor fuel for the OPAL reactor.

The full decision and statement of reasons that accompanied it can be downloaded using the following link.

• Decision and statement of reasons by the CEO of ARPANSA - (PDF 123kb)

In his reasons, the CEO contemplated the imposition of additional licence conditions on the Opal operating licence and provided ANSTO with an opportunity to make any submissions it wished on the proposed licence conditions. On 27 May 2008 ANSTO responded:

• Letter from ANSTO regarding proposed licence conditions (PDF 161kb)

On 2 June 2008, the CEO imposed additional licence conditions contained in the following letter:

• CEO's response to ANSTO's letter (PDF 760kb)

 

The image of the OPAL reactor pools was provided by ANSTO.

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