Terms of Reference

On 2 October 1997, the Senate referred to the Senate Economics References Committee the matter of whether a new reactor should be built to replace the High Flux Australian Reactor at Lucas Heights on that site or on some other site in Australia. In its inquiry the Committee was directed to make particular reference to:

(a) the suitability of building a new reactor in a densely populated suburban area of Sydney and the impact on the environment of the Sutherland Shire community of a new reactor on the Lucas Heights site;

(b) the availability of alternative technologies to generate neutrons for medical, scientific, mining, industrial and other uses;

(c) the safety, cost, viability and effectiveness of alternative technologies such as cyclotrons and spallation sources compared with the long-term commissioning, operation and decommissioning of a new reactor; and

(d) whether the issues raised by the 1993 Research Reactor Review have been satisfactorily addressed in the context of the decision to proceed with a new reactor at Lucas Heights.

On 7 December 1998, the Senate re-adopted this reference.