Media Release

18 January 2001

Updated Model Assesses Health Risk of Hosting Nuclear Powered Warships in Australia

The CEO of ARPANSA, Dr John Loy, today released a technical report entitled 'The 2000 Reference Accident'. The report details a revised model used by ARPANSA and the Visiting Ships Panel (Nuclear) to assess the suitability of Australian ports for visits by nuclear powered warships.

"Computer modelling, information on warship containment and health physics data on intervention levels for countermeasures have advanced a lot since 1975, when the Reference Accident was first developed. Reference Accident is the accepted term in the nuclear industry for a hypothetical accident to a nuclear reactor and it is used for assessing sites in the planning and development of emergency measures to contain accident damage", Dr Loy said.

"In both the 1975 Reference Accident and the 2000 Reference Accident a single accident scenario was chosen to represent an upper bound risk to the surrounding population. The updated model is still based on a severe accident, with a full core meltdown. The consequences of this are calculated and are an essential element in planning emergency arrangements put in place by the Australian States and Territories where nuclear warships visit".

• The 2000 Reference Accident Report will be considered by the Visiting Ships Panel (Nuclear) and State and Territory governments that host visits by nuclear powered warships.
• The Visiting Ships Panel (Nuclear) is an interdepartmental panel chaired by the Department of Defence.
• A copy of the 2000 Reference Accident Report is available on ARPANSA's Website.

ENDS