Nuclear Safety Committee
MINUTES
Date:	18 March 2016	
Time:	10:00 am to 04:00 pm	
Location:	Wattle Room, Level 3, Miranda 	
Secretariat:	Mr John Ward, Safety Analysis Section, Regulatory Services Branch.	
Scribe:	Ms Francesca Wigney, Facility Licensing Section, Regulatory Services Branch	
Members:	Dr Tamie Weaver (Chair); Dr Carl-Magnus Larsson (CEO); Mr Christopher Tola; Mr Donald Macnab; Ms Kerrie Christian; Dr Peter Karamoskos; Dr Robert Lee; Mr Robert Lyon; Mr Tony Irwin, Mr Ian Drinnan; and Mr Peter Wilkinson	
Invitees:	Mr Jack Dillich (Chief Inspector,  Regulatory Services Branch); Mr Jim Scott (Facility Licensing  Section, Regulatory Services Branch), Dr Samir Sarkar (Principal Inspector, Regulatory Services Branch); Ms Tone Doyle (Chief of Staff, CEO Office)	

1.	Opening of Meeting		
The Chair, Dr Tamie Weaver, opened the meeting on 18 March at 10:00 am at the ARPANSA Miranda Office.
2.	Meeting Dates		
Meeting dates were confirmed as follows:
•	17 June 2016; 
•	4 November 2016; and
•	10 March 2017

3.	Declaration of Interests		
Members were asked to identify any new or previously undisclosed interests that could conflict, or be perceived to conflict, with their duties as a member of the Committee.  None were declared.

4.	Confirmation of the Minutes		
The minutes from the NSC meeting on the 30 October 2015 were confirmed. 

5.	Business Arising		
Members agreed that, rather than a meeting summary, future NSC minutes would be published in full on the ARPANSA website. As a consequence it was agreed to confirm future minutes out of session. All advisory bodies to ARPANSA, i.e. the Radiation Health and Safety Advisory Council, The Radiation Health Committee and the Nuclear Safety Committee, have adopted the same approach in the interest of ongoing openness and transparency.

6.	Correspondence		
It was noted that a request for the NSC Minutes from the June 2015 meeting and subsequent correspondence had been submitted by a member of the public, and the requested information was subsequently provided. 

A letter providing NSC advice and recommendations relating to several areas of regulation of an expanded nuclear industry, should a government be minded to allow or promote nuclear facilities currently not in operation in Australia was sent to the CEO on 7 December. This letter is available on the ARPANSA website.

7.	Main Items for Discussion		

Item 7.1	National Radioactive Waste Management Facility (NRWMF) Communications		

Members provided feedback on the draft ARPANSA communication strategy and plan for the NRWMF which was developed in collaboration with external expertise. 
The Committee agreed that ARPANSA needed to clearly and effectively engage stakeholders to communicate its role and responsibilities as the independent regulator and to be transparent in the reasoning for any decision made on the NRWMF. 
Case studies were discussed for projects in other industries where the challenges around communication of risk in a non-technical format had not been successfully managed and where social and economic issues, together with the needs of the full range and nature of stakeholder groups had not been understood. 
The Committee agreed that ARPANSA could continue to benefit from experience from other industries in stakeholder engagement as well as the international nuclear community. The requirement to continue to engage rather than inform stakeholders was emphasised. The wide range of available communication tools was also discussed.
The Committee members debated whether ARPANSA was currently sufficiently resourced to be able to engage effectively with the wide range of stakeholders involved in this project. It was agreed the Committee would request that ARPANSA provide further information on the capacity of its resourcing to fully implement the communication strategy and plan for the NRWMF.
It was also agreed ARPANSA needs to manage its resources by a ‘tiered approach’ to communication, recognising some interactions are more resource intensive than others and that these ‘tiers’ will vary over the duration of the project. Members expressed a wish for specific mention of the Committee in the strategy.
Action 1: Correspondence to be sent to the ARPANSA CEO outlining concerns regarding resourcing of the communication strategy and plan for the NRWMF – On NSC Chair. 

Item 7.2	 Regulator Performance Framework Self-Assessment 		
Members provided feedback on the Regulatory Services branch plan for an Annual Focused Self-Assessment (FSA), scheduled for July 2016, noting that whilst it is ARPANSA driven, the use of external resources was considered appropriate as it is a first-of-a-kind project, driven by the Government’s Regulator Performance Framework. The Committee requested the results of the assessment be provided for review at the November 2016 meeting.  
Action 2 – Results of the FSA to be provided to the NSC for the November 2016 Meeting – On ARPANSA Secretariat. 

Item 7.3	Licensing Basis Update Effort		

The Committee was provided with a briefing on the project to update and consolidate the Licensing Basis of ARPANSA Facility and Source Licences in a consistent and comprehensive manner.  The review will outline any changes in the licensing basis since the original licence was issued.  Members agreed this was in line with the requirements of a periodic safety review and international best practice and would be beneficial to both ARPANSA and Licence Holders. 

Item 7.4	Draft Regulatory Guide: Periodic Safety and Security Review (PSSR)			

Members provided feedback on the revised draft of the PSSR Regulatory Guide which was developed jointly between ARPANSA and the Australian Safeguards and Non-Proliferation Office (ASNO), noting there was still a perceived separation between safety and security sections within the document. 

Members debated on whether advice should be given to consolidate the two areas further but it was agreed that the guide should remain basically as it is in the current draft to enable the upcoming IAEA Guideline for the Periodic Safety Review of Research Reactors to be easily incorporated once it has been issued. 

Members noted that overall the guide would provide clarity and flexibility for licence holders undertaking the PSSR process. 

Item 7.5	National Radioactive Waste Management Draft White Paper			

The Committee was briefed on the current project to develop a white paper which outlines the trusted international standards in relation to ARPANSA’s regulatory guidelines for radioactive waste disposal and storage facilities. Members endorsed the project and requested to review the draft paper at the June 2016 NSC meeting.  
Action 3 –The NRWM Management paper to be provided to the NSC for the June 2016 Meeting – On ARPANSA Secretariat

8	Update on Major Controlled Facilities and Inspections		

Item 8.1	OPAL 			

The Committee was given an overview of the ANSTO OPAL Reactor regulatory performance since the last NSC meeting in October 2015. The overview did not raise any significant regulatory concerns or concerns among Committee members. 

Item 8.2	ANSTO Waste Operations - Return of the Intermediate Level Waste (ILW)			

The Committee was given a briefing on the return of the ILW to ANSTO which occurred on 6 December 2015. The Committee noted that lessons could be learned from this for the NRWMF project.  

Item 8.3	ANSTO Waste Operations – OPAL Spent fuel management strategy			

The Committee was briefed on the proposed revised ANSTO OPAL spent fuel management strategy. No issues were raised. 

Item 8.4	ANSTO Intermediate Level Waste Strategy Paper 			

In response to Action 3 from the October 2015 NSC Meeting the Committee was briefed on the ANSTO Intermediate Level Waste Strategy Paper which detailed the long term management strategy and options for the waste from molybdenum-99 production on site. 

9	Reports		

Item 9.1	ARPANSA Activities		

The Committee was briefed on ARPANSA activities since the October 2015 meeting. Of particular interest is the IAEA-coordinated Integrated Regulatory Review Service (IRRS) to Australia, including a review mission requested for the second half of 2018. The Committee was supportive of ARPANSA’s initiative to work with State and Territory regulators to include aspects of national uniformity in the IRRS.  
Item 9.2	Radiation Health Committee		

The Committee was updated on the activities of the Radiation Health Committee (RHC) including the 2018 IRRS Mission to Australia in terms of jurisdictional participation, the progress of the Trusted International Standards (TIS) implementation project and work on the definition of occupational exposure in ICNIRP 2010. 
The RHC work program was noted to include amendment of a number of standards in line with TIS, adoption of the DS456 Leadership and Management for Safety standard and further development of the Planned Exposure Code that implements aspects of the International Basic Safety Standards, IAEA General Safety Requirements Part 3. 
The concern raised by the RHC members involving the increasing use of Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) in lifestyle and fitness industry without medical justification was noted by members. 
Item 9.3	ARPANSA Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)  Year to Date 		

The Committee was briefed on the status of the KPIs for the Regulatory Services Branch. No issues were raised although members agreed that some of the indicators would need to be revised so that an accurate reflection of performance was captured. Members agreed that RSR KPIs should remain a standing agenda item. 
Item 9.4	Business Arising		

None 

10.	Other Business		

The committee was given an overview of the capabilities of the govdex© software as a secure online collaboration and management tool for documentation and correspondence. Members agreed to trial the software at and in preparation for the June 2016 NSC meeting. 
11	Closure and Next Meeting		

The meeting closed at 4pm. The NSC will reconvene on 17 June 2016.