THE federal budget provides $22.6 million to develop detailed design options for a national radioactive waste management site at a location outside Sutherland Shire.
This is the first firm indication that the Coalition government will press ahead with plans for a permanent nuclear waste storage.
It is expected to be welcomed by Sutherland Shire Council, which opposes plans for a temporary storage site to be built at the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) at Lucas Heights.
It is thought the federal government is considering several sites in the Northern Territory.
"Radioactive waste is held at hundreds of locations across Australia, including at ANSTO, mining sites and medical facilities," an ANSTO spokesman said.
"This [news] puts Australia further along the path to the establishment of a central place to safely store this waste, which is in line with international best practice."
The allocation of $22.6 million over three years for the design of the permanent nuclear storage site comes under the federal Department of Industry budget.
ANSTO also received a $654 million, four-year funding allocation under the budget.
This includes $76.6 million over five years for the OPAL reactor at Lucas Heights — Australia's only nuclear research reactor.
The new funding will allow the OPAL reactor to continue to operate at full capacity and will cover a tripling of nuclear medicine production from 2016.
Preliminary work started last week on ANSTO's new $168 million nuclear medicine manufacturing plant, which will manufacture Mo-99.
Mo-99 is used to diagnose cancer, heart disease and muscular and skeletal conditions.
Are you pleased with the budget allocation to have a national radioactive waste management centre outside of the shire?
