With an eye on the past and a bigger one on the future, the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) at Lucas Heights marked a 60-year anniversary on Monday, April 15.
It is 60 years since a federal law was passed to establish what became the Atomic Energy Commission, which eventually gave birth to ANSTO.
The operations manager of ANSTO’s Bragg Institute, Jamie Schulz, of Mortdale, said the planned new nuclear medicine facility would cost $168million.
Today’s patients who needed the expertise of imaging, diagnosis and treatment were the benefactors of ANSTO’s nuclear medicine manufacturing facility with the diagnosis and treatment of heart disease, cancer, muscular and skeletal conditions.
‘‘The Australian nuclear medicine facility is to be expanded so that it delivers half a million doses of nuclear medicine to Australians,’’ Dr Schulz said.
‘‘This will be an increase from helping one in two Australians,’’ Dr Schulz said. ‘‘There will be an extra 250 jobs for the area.’’
At present there are 1200 employees.
ANSTO’s chief executive, Adi Paterson, said the organisation today created and distributed 10,000 doses of nuclear medicine to 250 hospitals and medical centres a week.
Sutherland Shire Council’s mayor Kent Johns said ANSTO’S presence was an integral part of the local economy and an international service.
‘‘ANSTO is a world-class facility, you would never satisfy the idealists’ bent against them,’’ Cr Johns said.
Not everybody is celebrating ANSTO’s anniversary.
Environmentalist Bob Walshe said that the initial establishment of the nuclear reactor generated strong opposition.
‘‘The strong movement against it has continued, but there has not been the radicalism that there was previously,’’ Mr Walshe said.
There was controversary after ANSTO announced it would house the world’s first Synroc (synthetic rock) nuclear waste disposal facility to be opened by the end of 2015.
See a video about ANSTO’S history below.
