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INTERNATIONAL AT MIC FNERGY EETIlNTG IN AUSTRALIA

Press Statement by the Minister for National Developments The Honourable David Fairbairn, D.F.C., M.P.

Scientists from thirteen countries will be attending an

International Study Group Meeting on Radioisotope Production at the

Australian Atomic Energy Commission Research Betablishment, Lucas

Heights, near Sydney from June 3rd to June 7th.  The meeting is

sponsored by the International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna, in

association with the Australian Atomic Energy Commission.

Countries participating are Australia, Canada, France, India,

Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Now Zealand, Pakistan., Philippines, The

Republic of China, Thailand and Vietnam.  Most of these nations have

radioisotope production and handling facilities.

The International Atomic Energy Agency will be represented 'by

a group headed by Professor Boris Grinborg, Director of the Agency's

Research and Laboratories.

The use of radioisotopes is becoming increasingly important

in medicines both for diagnosis and therapy and also in most fields

of research and industry. The Australian Atomic Energy Commission

is producing an extensive range of radioisotopes in its research

reactor, HIFAR, and some are also being exported, particularly to

Asian countries and Now Zealand.

A number of papers on radioisotope production techniques,

processing and handling will be presented at the meeting and it will

also provide informal discussion at a highly scientific and technical

level.

This is the second International Atomic Energy Agency Study

Group Meeting to be held at tho A.A.ELC. Research Establishment. The

first was in February, 1966.

The meetings are part of a series of regional meetings on research

reactor utilisation, the first of which was hold in Bangkok in 1962.

Each of those Study Group meetings deals with a different aspect of the

subjoct, and two or three leading specialists arc invited to attend from

countries outside the region.

CANBERRA, A. C, T.

May, 30th 1968.

