We asked, you said, we did

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.