AUSTRALIA,./'-

PRESS STATEMEN MINISTER FOR RESOURCES AND ENERGY   SENATOR GARETH EVANS Q.C.

30 August 1985

76/85

Australia and Japan to Co-operate in Studies on High-Level

Radioactive Waste

A major step in international co-operation on developing

ways of dealing with high-level radioactive waste will be

taken in Tokyo next week.

On 3 September the Australian Atomic Energy Commission

(AAEC) and the Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute

(JAERI)  are to sign an agreement to co-operate on research

and development (R & D) in this important field.

Co-operation between the AAEC and JAERI will commence with

R & D on SYNROC, the Australian-developed waste

immobilisation method. It is expected that JAERI will

prepare samples of SYNROC containing high-level wastes

obtained from spent reactor fuel.  These experiments will

complement those already being carried out in Australia

and in the United Kingdom under a similar co-operative

arrangement.

Invented by Professor Ted Ringwood at the Australian

National University, SYNROC is a synthetic rock designed

to integrate the elements of high level waste into its

very stable crystal structure.

To date the Australian Government has allocated over $4.6

million to the research and development of SYNROC.  This

includes $2.75 million for the construction of a

non-radioactive pilot plant developed by the Australian

Atomic Energy Commission at Lucas Heights, which.  will be

used to demonstrate the feasibility of manufacturing

full-sized blocks of SYNROC.

Since the potential demand for SYNROC is in countries

generating electricity from nuclear power stations,

Australia has sought to enter into bilateral agreements

with a number of such countries to research and develop

SYNROC. Japan derives some 20 percent of its electricity

from nuclear power.

While it is widely accepted that high level waste from

nuclear power stations can be safely disposed of using

existing technology, for example using, borosilicate glass,

no final disposal is expected to take place until after,

the year 2000. This allows time for the continued

development of technologies such as SYNROC. Research to

date suggests the SYNROC process has distinct advantages.

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Canberra

