RE the letters “Building 23 is the concern” (Your View, October 31).
Your readers were right when they pointed out that recent mechanical, medicine supply and safety issues stem from Building 23 – one building out of more than 100 on our Lucas Heights campus.
At Building 23, technicians assemble generators which are used to provide the world’s most widely used nuclear medicine for diagnosis of cancers, heart disease and skeletal injuries to hospitals and nuclear medicine clinics across Australia.
ANSTO is now in the process of responding to 85 recommendations contained in an independent report on Building 23, and this includes considering funding options for replacement of the building.
Many people who live in the St George and Sutherland Shire area know ANSTO and may even have worked with us in the past. We value the relationship we have with our community, and know that transparency is a key part of the trust built over many years.
ANSTO has shared information about the incident that occurred in August last year and associated near misses with our regulator, stakeholders and the media, over the course of many months.
The Independent Review into Building 23 and its recommendations are available on the ANSTO website, and we plan to share ANSTO’s response when we provide it to our regulator in December.
ANSTO is a community partner and one of the Shire’s largest employers, and we thank our community for its continued support.
Dr Adi Paterson
Chief Executive Officer, ANSTO