Radiation protection authorisations
All types of authorisation under the RPC Act are renewed annually. Table 5 shows the number of current authorisations as at 30 June 2014, along with new applications approved during 2013–14.
Table 5—Authorisations under the Radiation Protection and Control Act
| Type of authorisation | Section of RPC Act | Number licensed/registered as at 30 June 2014 | Number approved 2013–14 |
| Licence to use or handle radioactive substances | 28 | 1 032 | 191 |
| Licence to operate ionising radiation apparatus | 31(1)(a) | 4 831 | 646 |
| Licence to operate a nonionising radiation apparatus (cosmetic tanning units) | 31(1)(b) | 66 | 17 |
| Accreditation as a third party service provider | 33(b) | 24 | 1 |
| Registration of ionising radiation apparatus | 32 | 2 141 | 320 |
| Registration of sealed radioactive sources | 30 | 628 | 30 |
| Registration of premises in which unsealed radioactive substances are handled or kept | 29 | 116 | 2 |
| Licence to test for developmental purposes | 23A | 2 | 2 |
| Licence to carry out mining or mineral processing | 24 | 6 | 6 |
| Facilities licence | 29A | 10 | 10 |
| Licence to possess a radiation source | 33A | 804 | 139 |
| Total | 9,660 | 1,364 |
The number of applications received for the registration of medical, dental, chiropractic and veterinary X-ray apparatus during 2013–14 was 320 compared with 292 in 2012–13. The ongoing increase in applications in this area is mainly due to individual practices upgrading their X-ray equipment, for example, to digital and computer radiography X-ray machines.
It is estimated that during the same period, there were approximately 12 000 radiation workers in South Australia. This number includes 6 000 workers licensed under sections 28 and 31 of the RPC Act, and 6 000 workers who are not required to hold a licence, but are employed in occupations that involve potential exposure to radiation. The latter includes workers at the Olympic Dam, Beverley, Beverley Four Mile and Honeymoon uranium projects; workers in Type C premises; users of industrial radiation gauges; operators of fully enclosed industrial X-ray units who work under the supervision of an appropriately licensed person; operators of cabinet X-ray units; and people assisting with medical, dental and veterinary X-ray procedures.
Where required under the provisions of the RPC Act, the radiation doses of workers must be monitored using approved personal dosimeters, which are supplied by a number of businesses. As a condition of their approval, the suppliers must provide both the employers of radiation workers and the EPA with the personal monitoring results. Doses received by radiation workers remain well below the occupational limits prescribed in the Regulations under the RPC Act.
Licence to test for developmental purposes
Bureau Veritas Minerals Pty Ltd/Amdel Ltd Pilot Plant
During the period, at the company’s request, the name of the holder of the licence to conduct developmental testing under section 23A of the RPC Act (Licence No. LM8), originally Australian Mineral Development Laboratories (AMDEL) Ltd, was changed to Bureau Veritas Minerals Pty Ltd. The company continued to carry out developmental testing of extraction of uranium from uranium ore at its pilot plant in Wingfield. The licence that was originally granted on 23 October 2012 is required since the operations involve leaching of more than 10 tonnes of ore per year.
Oban uranium project
Oban Energy Ltd (a subsidiary of Curnamona Energy Ltd) was originally granted a licence under section 24 of the RPC Act (No. LM6) to conduct developmental testing of mining or milling of radioactive ores at its Oban site, northwest of Broken Hill, in July 2010. During the period, Oban completed trials at the site and decided not to progress to full-scale mining. Consequently, operations ceased at the site. The EPA continued working with DSD to coordinate requirements for the rehabilitation of the site. Oban is required to hold a licence under section 23A until rehabilitation of the site is completed to the satisfaction of the relevant regulatory agencies.
Licences to carry out mining or mineral processing
Licences under section 24 of the RPC Act are currently held by:
- BHP Billiton (Olympic Dam Corporation) Pty Ltd (Olympic Dam operations): Licence No. LM1
- Heathgate Resources Pty Ltd (Beverley uranium project): Licence No. LM4
- Quasar Resources Pty Ltd/Alliance Craton Pty Ltd (Beverley Four Mile uranium project): Licence No. LM7
- Uranium One Australia Pty Ltd (Honeymoon uranium project): Licence No. LM5
- Murray Zircon mineral sand operation (Mindarie Project, Western Murray Basin): Licence No. LM9
- Iluka Resources Ltd Jacinth Ambrosia mineral sand operation, west of Ceduna: Licence No. LM10.
The licences are subject to conditions that include the requirement to comply with the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA) Mining Code.
Uranium mining operations
The EPA oversees the regulatory compliance of the mining and processing of radioactive ores and related activities by auditing monitoring results, and conducting inspections and independent monitoring. Licence-holders also provide occupational and environmental radiation monitoring data, including dose assessments. All reports are examined, compared with the EPA’s monitoring results, where appropriate, and reviewed with company officers.
Olympic Dam operations
During 2013–14, BHP Billiton (Olympic Dam Corporation) Pty Ltd submitted its Annual radiation protection report and LM1 annual report for 2012–13. These reports included an assessment of the adequacy and effectiveness of radiation protection measures. The dose summary indicated that the mean dose for fulltime workers in the mine was 2.2 millisieverts (mSv) and processing plant was 0.8 (mSv), compared with the 20-mSv average annual limit for radiation workers. The maximum individual dose received was 8.2 mSv (41% of the 20-mSv limit).
The company also submitted its Annual environmental protection and management program report for 2012–13. The report confirmed that the radiological effects of the operation remain small and are confined to the mining lease area. It also confirmed that the annual radiation dose received by members of the public living in the Olympic Dam Village and Roxby Downs was less than the detection limit for the methods used (5% of the 1-mSv annual limit for members of the public).
Beverley uranium project
Heathgate Resources Pty Ltd’s Beverley uranium project is located approximately 600 km north of Adelaide. The company’s licence to conduct uranium mining operations at the site was renewed by the EPA for a further 12 months from 4 August 2013. During 2013–14, Heathgate Resources completed upgrades to existing Beverley North facilities, located approximately 9 km northwest of Beverley. This allows for processing of solutions from the Four Mile wellfields.
Beverley Four Mile uranium project
In 2009, Quasar Resources and Alliance Craton Explorer, as parties to a joint venture, applied for a licence under section 24 of the RPC Act for an in-situ recovery uranium mine—the Beverley Four Mile uranium project. However, joint-venture development of the project had remained on hold since then. In August 2013, the EPA granted a licence to the joint-venture partners and the mine began extracting uranium in April 2014, with processing being integrated with existing Beverley North and Beverley infrastructure.
Honeymoon uranium project
The Uranium One Australia Pty Ltd’s Honeymoon uranium project site is located approximately 75 km northwest of Broken Hill. The company’s licence to conduct uranium mining operations at the site was renewed by the EPA for a further 12 months from 6 October 2013, and a month later, Uranium One placed the mine into care and maintenance. The EPA has worked with the company to ensure appropriate planning and resourcing of this stage of operations occurs. A small team remains on site to manage the plant shutdown.
Transport of uranium ore concentrate
Uranium ore concentrate from the Olympic Dam, Beverley, Honeymoon and Energy Resources Australia Ranger (Northern Territory) mines is transported by road to Outer Harbor, in accordance with the regulations for the safe transport of radioactive substances. It is then exported from Outer Harbor for shipment overseas. Transport of uranium ore concentrate was conducted without incident in the reporting period.
Mineral sand mining operations
The Murray Zircon mineral sand operation at Mindarie and Iluka Resources Ltd Jacinth–Ambrosia mineral sand operation west of Ceduna, which were previously registered as premises where unsealed radioactive substances were used or handled under section 29 of the RPC Act, were granted licences to carry out mining or mineral processing under section 24 of the RPC Act. The conditions of these licences also include the requirement to comply with the ARPANSA Mining Code.
Mindarie Mineral Sands Project
The Mindarie Mineral Sands Project is located approximately 150 km east of Adelaide in the Murray Mallee region, and comprises eight mineral sands strandlines located in nine separate mineral leases and two exploration licences. The mine continued to operate and has also commenced rehabilitation of minedout strandlines.
Licence LM9 was renewed by the EPA for a further 12 months from 11 September 2013. A periodic inspection was performed during the reporting period.
Jacinth–Ambrosia Mineral Sand Project
Iluka Resources JacinthAmbrosia Mine continued to operate. In January 2013, Iluka Resources applied for and was granted a licence (No. LM10) to carry out mining or mineral processing.
Facilities licences
During 2013–14, several sites that were previously registered as premises under section 29 of the RPC Act renewed their facilities licence under section 29A, and one new licence was granted. The following facilities licences were renewed or granted during the period.
Cyclotron Facility
On 2 October 2013, the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute was granted a facilities licence for the purposes of generating, storing and transporting radioisotopes and radiopharmaceuticals generated by a cyclotron.
Former uranium mine and processing site
DMITRE continued to hold facilities licences for the sites of the former Radium Hill uranium mine and the Port Pirie Treatment Plant (Licence Nos. LF3 & LF4).
Qube Pty Ltd Port Adelaide facility
Qube Pty Ltd continued to hold a facilities licence (No. LF1) for the purposes of storing and handling heavy mineral concentrate at Berth 18, Ocean Steamers Road, Port Adelaide.
Qube Logistics Outer Harbor storage facility
Qube Logistics continued to hold a facilities licence (No. LF2) for the purposes of storing and handling heavy mineral concentrate at Coghlan Road, Outer Harbor.
Maralinga
A facilities licence (No. LF7), in the name of Maralinga Tjarutja, for the former British atomic weapons test site at Maralinga (Section 400 land parcel) was renewed. The site includes burial trenches containing radioactive materials that were constructed during the Commonwealth Government’s Maralinga Rehabilitation Project, completed in 2000.
The Maralinga Land and Environment Management Committee, which consists of one representative each from Maralinga Tjarutja, the Commonwealth Government and the EPA, met on site in December 2013. The committee oversees the site management activities and longterm radiation monitoring and surveillance of the site. Two site inspections were performed during the reporting period, including a joint inspection with ARPANSA to familiarise new EPA staff with the site.
Flinders Logistics
Flinders Logistics continued to hold a facilities licence (No. LF8) for the purposes of storing and handling heavy mineral concentrate at Berth 29, Inner Harbor, Port Adelaide.
Iluka Resources Port Thevenard storage facility
During 2013–14, Iluka Resources Ltd continued to hold a facilities licence (No. LF5) for the purposes of storing and handling heavy mineral concentrate at their storage and handling facility, Innes Avenue, Thevenard.
Patrick Ports Pty Ltd
Patrick Ports Pty Ltd continued to hold a facilities licence (No. LF6) for the purposes of storing and handling heavy mineral concentrate at Berth 29, Minnipa Road, Inner Harbor, Port Adelaide.
Mine registered as premises
Prominent Hill copper mine
The Prominent Hill copper mine, operated by Oz Minerals Pty Ltd, remained registered as premises under section 29 of the RPC Act.
Exemptions granted under the Radiation Protection and Control Act
Under section 44 of the RPC Act, the relevant minister or delegate is empowered to grant exemptions from any specified provision, provided such action would not endanger the health or safety of any person. The authority to grant exemptions has been delegated to the Chief Executive of the EPA, and further delegated to the Executive Director Operations, Operations Director Mining, Radiation and Regulatory Support, and Manager Radiation Protection.
After careful consideration, the following exemptions from provisions of the RPC Act and Regulations were granted, subject to conditions specified in the exemption notices published in the South Australian Government Gazette.
On 4 July 2013, the following exemptions from the Radiation Protection and Control (lonising Radiation) Regulations 2000 were made to address several outdated regulatory requirements for owners of fluoroscopic apparatus, to exempt an owner of:
- a medical or veterinary fluoroscopy apparatus fitted with a flatpanel detector, from the requirements of regulation 100(3)
- a fluoroscopic apparatus with an over-table X-ray tube that is designed also for radiography, from the requirements of regulation 100(6)
- an over-table fluoroscopic apparatus, from the requirements of regulation 100(24)(c), subject to the following conditions:
- There must be a radiation protective screen available at the patient table.
- The radiation protective screen must be of dimensions sufficient to provide adequate radiation protection for any person using the screen and for any orientation of the patient table, clinical factors being taken into account.
- The radiation protective screen must provide at least a 0.5-mm lead thickness equivalence.
Licence to possess a radiation source
The requirement to hold a licence to possess a radiation source, under section 33A of the RPC Act, came into force on 1 July 2012. This requires owners (people and organisations) to hold a licence to possess a registrable ionising radiation apparatus, a commercial cosmetic tanning unit, a registrable sealed radioactive source or occupy premises where unsealed radioactive substances are handled or kept.
People and organisations intending to take possession of a radiation source must obtain a licence before taking possession. Holders of a ‘licence to possess’ include universities, hospitals, dentists, veterinarians, chiropractors, geological survey companies, industrial radiography companies and engineering companies. People and organisations who are subject to radiation protection standards and controls required under sections 23A, 24 or 29A of the RPC Act are not required to hold a licence under section 33A. This implements a commitment by South Australia under the National Directory for Radiation Protection. In 2013–14, the level of compliance with this provision was high.