10 July 2025
ARPANSA recently partnered with the Australian Safeguards and Non-Proliferation Office (ASNO) to host a radionuclide workshop for Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) local operators.
As part of the International Monitoring System (IMS), radionuclide stations collect data that is analysed and reported to ensure no nuclear test goes undetected.
The 3-day workshop held in Melbourne brought together government, universities and current and future operators of ARPANSA’s radionuclide monitoring stations to learn more about the purpose of the International Monitoring System (IMS) and CTBT from a host of experts.
ARPANSA and ASNO staff presented alongside experts from Geoscience Australia and the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO), to provide a comprehensive overview of the equipment and technology and how it is used to collect and analyse data for the IMS.
ARPANSA Director Monitoring Networks and Health Physics David Hardman said the workshop allowed attendees to increase understanding of the CTBT IMS and gain valuable insights from one another.
‘This was the first time we hosted such a broad range of stakeholders and experts to discuss the technical details around radionuclide monitoring and demonstrate the significant contribution our work makes to global data on radiation detection,’ said Mr Hardman.
‘A real highlight was a tour of ARPANSA’s laboratories on the final day. The participants were able to see firsthand the broad work that ARPANSA does and how our team collect and analyse the data from the IMS network including the stations they operate.’
ARPANSA coordinates the management of nine stations in Australia, Antarctica and the South Pacific region in line with Australia’s commitment to the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT). Within Australia, ARPANSA manages seven of Australia’s 20 IMS stations, the third largest network of IMS in the world. These stations form part of an international network of more than 300 facilities that feed in data to the IMS.
A network of 80 radionuclide stations positioned around the world enables a continuous worldwide observation of aerosol samples of radioactive particles or gases released from nuclear explosions.
There are 16 radionuclide laboratories around the world, including one at ARPANSA, that are used to verify samples suspected of containing radionuclide materials that may have been produced by a nuclear explosion.
ARPANSA works together with ASNO and Geoscience Australia to send data to the CTBTO in Vienna. ASNO was established in 1998 to be Australia's national authority for the CTBT.
The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) bans all nuclear test explosions, whether for military or civilian purposes. Currently there are 187 signatory states, including Australia that signed the Treaty on the day it opened for signature on 24 September 1996.
Find out more about the International Monitoring System (IMS) and the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) and about Australia’s contribution to the CTBT.
