Meeting Summary—20 June 2014
Miranda Campus, ARPANSA
Opening of Meeting 
The meeting commenced at 10am. All Members were in attendance except for Mr Ian Drinnan and Ms Kerrie Christian who tendered their apologies.
Confirmation of the Minutes
The Minutes of the meeting, held on 28 February 2014, were confirmed.
Correspondence
There were no items of correspondence in addition to those letters discussed under Business Arising.
Business Arising
Thematic inspection of ANSTO Radiation Protection Services
ARPANSA conducted the first of a series of thematic inspections on 27 February 2014. The inspection examined the delivery of radiation protection services (RPS) across the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO). At the February 2014 Nuclear Safety Committee (NSC) meeting, ARPANSA requested the NSC provide general advice on the conduct of such inspections. An action arising from this meeting was to provide a copy of the final inspection report (now available on the ARPANSA website) for information. ARPANSA circulated a copy of the inspection report to the NSC highlighting the report’s main findings and recommendations.
ANSTO SyMo Facility (Synroc)
At the February 2014 meeting, the NSC had discussed its draft letter of response to the CEO of ARPANSA’s request for advice regarding the Synroc facility. The Chair sent a finalised letter of advice, on behalf of the NSC, to the CEO on 21 March 2014. The CEO of ARPANSA took this advice into consideration when making a decision to issue a siting and construction licence to ANSTO for the SyMo facility (see the ARPANSA website).
NSC Webpages and information
At the February 2014 meeting, the NSC discussed how best to promote and make transparent its functions and actions. The CEO decided that summaries of the NSC meetings will be placed as a news item on the front page of the ARPANSA website. 
Main Items for Discussion
OPAL Reactor – Periodic Safety Review
One of the conditions placed upon the operation of the OPAL Reactor is to submit a detailed review (the periodic safety review - PSR) that re-examines the safety of the reactor by taking into account its operating experience and international best practice in nuclear and radiation safety. ANSTO submitted its PSR which ARPANSA is in the final stages of assessing. The NSC discussed key issues that should be considered in ARPANSA’s review of the PSR including: the need to ensure the licence holder closes out and learns from all actions arising from the review; the importance of applying an integrated safety management approach; and the lessons learned that can be shared internationally from undertaking the review process. The CEO will draft a letter to the NSC formally requesting this advice.
ANSTO Nuclear Medicine Facility Construction Licence Application 
ANSTO submitted an application to ARPANSA seeking permission to construct a facility that will be used to process fission Molybdenum-99 from low enriched uranium targets irradiated in the OPAL reactor. The NSC discussed: the adequacy of the safety categorisation used; relationship to the siting licence; how defence-in-depth will be applied; and the application of the as-low-as-reasonably-achievable principle. The CEO of ARPANSA had regard to these comments from the NSC when making a decision to issue a construction licence to ANSTO on 27 June 2014 (see the ARPANSA website). 
Regulatory Guide: Siting of Controlled Facilities
ARPANSA has prepared a draft Regulatory Guide to advise licence applicants of the issues that will have to be addressed when applying for a licence under the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Act 1998 to prepare a site for a controlled facility. The draft Guide has been made available for public comment (see the ARPANSA website) and ARPANSA circulated the draft to the NSC for comment and discussion at the meeting. Aspects discussed included: the international best practice guidance the draft Guide applies; the identification, assessment and site selection process applicants should undertake; and the importance of stakeholder and community consultation. ARPANSA would take the NSC’s comments into consideration before publishing the Guide on the ARPANSA website.
Residual Risk (with controls) versus Raw or Inherent Risk
At the February 2014 meeting, the NSC discussed the concept of raw or inherent risk (where no controls are applied) and residual risk (where controls are applied and implemented). ARPANSA sought the NSC’s general view on this issue. The NSC discussed: the relative value of assessing residual risk instead of inherent risk; adopting the as-low-as-reasonably-achievable principle; problems associated with incorporating likelihood into the consideration of risk; and event versus control based safety management. ARPANSA thanked the NSC for their comments which will be taken into consideration in risk assessment implementation.
Holistic Safety Analysis of ARPANSA and Holistic Safety Assessment Tools
ARPANSA has developed a draft holistic analysis assessment tool (MacroTool). The MacroTool is used to examine procedures, processes and practices to help identify overall weaknesses and strengths in holistic safety. ARPANSA trialled this tool internally to identify whether it is useful and can help improve overall safety. The internal analysis which used the MacroTool, as well as smaller tools (MicroTools) which examine individual aspects of holistic safety, was circulated to the NSC for comment. The NSC discussed the following: how results can be presented to improve the way lessons are learned; application of the tool to both small and large organisations; how instructions and explanation of how the tools work can be made easy to understand. ARPANSA took the NSC’s advice into account when publishing the tools on the ARPANSA website which, although not mandatory, may be used by both licence holders and applicants to improve the safety of their operations.
Alignment of Radiation Protection Series with the IAEA Safety Standards Series
ARPANSA briefed the NSC on a project that aims to align the Radiation Protection Series and the International Atomic Energy Agency Safety Standards Series. The Radiation Health Committee (RHC) is managing the project but will be calling upon the NSC to assist with the preparation of those publications that relate to nuclear safety and the safety of controlled facilities. The NSC considered this scope of work to be beneficial and will await the outcome of upcoming RHC meeting to identify the scope of work involved. 
Update on Controlled Facilities at ANSTO
Members were updated on the safety of controlled facilities at ANSTO. This included a brief outline of the inspections undertaken, and applications received, assessed and approved since the February 2014 meeting. 
Reports
ARPANSA’s activities
The CEO of ARPANSA provided the NSC a copy of ARPANSA’s 2014-2017 strategic directions. The NSC was also informed about ARPANSA’s activities in response to current budget and appropriations. 
Radiation Health and Safety Advisory Council and Radiation Health Committee
The NSC was provided with a copy of the meeting summaries of the Radiation Health and Safety Advisory Council (RHSAC) and RHC. 
Nuclear Safety Matters
For information, the NSC was provided a copy of the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR) report on Fukushima. 
Other Business
The CEO of ARPANSA outlined that Members’ appointments to the NSC expire on 31 December 2014 and all positions would be advertised, open to an expression of interest. As per the requirements of the ARPANS Act, the RHSAC would be consulted before the CEO appoints members of the NSC.
Closure of Meeting
The meeting closed at 3:50pm. The NSC will next convene on 31 October 2014.