We asked, you said, we did

We asked for your feedback on the licence application from the Australian Submarine Agency (ASA) to construct a prescribed radiation facility, known as the Controlled Industrial Facility (CIF) at the existing navy base on Garden Island in Rockingham, WA. ARPANSA granted a siting licence for this facility in 2024, with the construction application being the second licence stage for the CIF. The CEO of ARPANSA again decided that while public consultation was not required under the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Act, it was appropriate given the public’s interest.

We received 93 submissions from a range of stakeholders, including health professionals, environmental groups, workers and members of the general public. Concerns raised covered radiological safety of the facility for people and the environment, emergency response requirements, radiological environmental monitoring, waste transport, storage duration and the lack of a defined Commonwealth radioactive waste disposal pathway in Australia.

We took into account all submissions related to the radiological safety of the CIF in our decision-making process. We analysed issues and concerns raised during the consultation and provided a response to demonstrate how relevant submissions were considered in the decision-making process. For issues outside of the scope of our consultation, we provided information on the appropriate authority to contact for further information. This summary is available on the ARPANSA website.

The consultation and consideration of all public submissions was an important component of ARPANSA’s multi-layered evaluation and review process, which also included comprehensive review, analysis and validation of all technical and management information submitted by the licence applicant (the ASA). The multi-layered process was managed by the primary assessment team who reviewed the whole licence application, seeking additional information, review and expert advice as required. The assessments and recommendations were then peer reviewed by senior scientists and regulators, before the Chief Executive Officer = made the licence decision. The ARPANSA CEO, or her delegate, will only grant a licence if there is confidence that stringent requirements have been met under the ARPANS Act and Regulations, that international best practice in radiological protection has been met, and that there is evidence that these requirements can continue to be met throughout the lifecycle of the facility.

Following comprehensive assessment of the application and consultation submissions, we found that the application provided sufficient evidence of the radiological safety of the proposed facility, and no submissions justified the refusal of the licence.

The application decision and our response to the public submissions can be found on the ARPANSA website.

We asked for your feedback in relation to the licence application from the Australian Submarine Agency (ASA), seeking approval to prepare a site for a prescribed radiation facility known as the Controlled Industrial Facility (CIF) at the existing HMAS Stirling Navy Base, on Garden Island in Western Australia. While public consultation is not required for this type of application, the ARPANSA CEO elected to invite comment due to the expected level of public interest.

We received 165 submissions from a range of stakeholders, including health professionals, environmental groups, workers and members of the general public. There were a range of submission topics including some expressing concern about the level of information made available for public comment; issues relating to safety of the proposed facility and concerns regarding the lack of a radiological waste disposal pathway in Australia.

We took all public submissions into account in our regulatory assessment of this licence application. We have provided a response to demonstrate how the submissions were considered in our decision-making process. Overall, we found that there were no submissions that justified refusal of the licence. We found that the application provided sufficient evidence of the radiological safety of the proposed facility. The application decision and our responses to the public submissions can be found on the ARPANSA website.

We asked for your feedback on the new ARPANSA Standard for Limiting Exposure to Radiofrequency Fields – 100 KHz to 300 GHz (RPS S-1) because we want to make sure that the standard is fit for purpose and provides clear guidance to industries and regulators to ensure the safety of Australian workers and the general public including people of all ages and health status.

We received 61 submissions from a range of stakeholders, including health authorities, scientists, academic bodies and members of the general public. There were a range of technical comments, questions, and suggestions, as well as comments from members of the public expressing concern about the certainty of the science underpinning the exposure limits.

We have reviewed all submissions and made some amendments, primarily to clarify technical aspects of the Standard. The revised Standard and our responses to individual consultation comments will now undergo formal approvals prior to publication.  

The new Standard will be published on the ARPANSA website in the first quarter of 2021.