ANSTO celebrates 70th anniversary of start of nuclear age in Sydney

The 70th anniversary of the Atomic Energy Act (1953) which formally established the Australian Atomic Energy Commission (now ANSTO), also reflects on the Shire as Australia's centre of nuclear expertise.

In celebrating this milestone, ANSTO is inviting past employees to take a community tour of Lucas Heights and revisit a unique part of Australia's science heritage.

ANSTO's Chief Executive Officer, Shaun Jenkinson congratulated the organisation's rich and steeped history, and called on former workers to take a walk down memory lane at Lucas Heights.

"ANSTO has come a long way in these 70 years. Since the 1950s, Lucas Heights has been home to Australia's only nuclear research reactors; HIFAR, Moata, and OPAL; and ANSTO is now the site of some of the country's most significant and state-of-the-art research infrastructure and facilities," Mr Jenkinson said.

"From the AAEC's first head office at Coogee to the sprawling campus of Lucas Heights, ANSTO has long been a pillar of the local community.

"As one of the largest employers in the Shire, it's fuelled the careers for generations of scientists, engineers, researchers, and other professionals and is now the workplace of over 1,000 people from across the local area, Greater Sydney, and the Illawarra.

"There's been an immense talent in the thousands of former workers who have walked through the gates and corridors here at Lucas Heights.

"Just recently, ANSTO made headlines around the world and put the Shire on the map after the missing radioactive capsule in Western Australia was found by our dedicated team of radiation and detection and imaging specialists using our own CORIS360® technology."

Mr Jenkinson also recognised the significant work carried out in the shire that touches on the lives of most Australians, including ANSTO's production of around 80 per cent of the radioisotopes needed for Australia's life-saving nuclear medicines.

"Many people may not know that ANSTO has been supplying Australians with nuclear medicine for decades, which is used for the diagnosis, staging, or treatment of diseases like cancer," Mr Jenkinson said.

"Every Australian is likely to benefit from nuclear medicine, and on average, will have at least two nuclear medicine procedures in their lifetime.

"We produce nuclear medicine to enable 10,000 - 12,000 procedures each week, which is sent to more than 250 hospitals and medical clinics."

Australia was an early adopter of nuclear technologies and was quick to follow suit with significant nuclear developments around the world. In 1951, electricity was first generated from a nuclear power plant in Idaho, USA.

The following year, the Australian Atomic Energy Commission (AAEC) was established, and by 1953, the AAEC was formally officiated when the Atomic Energy Act (1953) came into effect.

In 1957, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) was established under the United Nations, with Australia playing a key role in its formation. The AAEC's key focus was to support the Australian Government with the mining and buying and selling of uranium, applying research to develop practical uses of atomic energy, constructing plant and equipment, and employing and training staff.

From the AAEC's early days at Coogee, the Lucas Heights Research Establishment facility was born and construction began in 1955.

In 1958, Lucas Heights became the site for Australia's first nuclear research reactor, known as HIFAR (High Flux Australian Reactor).

HIFAR was officially opened by the Prime Minister [later Sir] Robert Menzies on April 18, 1958.

For nearly 50 years, HIFAR produced neutrons for use in the production of nuclear medicine and other scientific applications. It was replaced by the current-day OPAL reactor (Open Pool Australian Lightwater reactor) in 2007, a state-of-the-art 20 megawatt multi-purpose reactor.

In 1961, ANSTO continued construction of its nuclear research infrastructure, with the Moata reactor. Moata operated for 34 years until 1995, and its small 100 kW research reactor was used largely for research and training, activation analysis, and neutron radiography.

Moata played an important role in both aircraft safety for use in around 15 per cent of all global commercial procedures involving radiography to check the structural soundness of jet engine turbine blades, and in Australia's uranium mining industry to provide rapid and accurate measurements of ore.

The AAEC formally evolved to become the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) in 1987.