We invite industries and government bodies to share capabilities, capacity and constraints in radioactive waste management for wastes suitable for near-surface disposal.
Australia has a small but important nuclear industry involved in nuclear medicine production, research and development, agriculture, mining and more.
Waste from these activities is safely and temporarily stored in around 100 locations throughout Australia.
Australia has a responsibility to dispose of this radioactive waste to meet national and international standards. While existing storage arrangements are safe, long-term management of Australia's waste at these locations is unsustainable. We need a permanent disposal solution.
ARWA is seeking responses from domestic and international organisations, including Australian federal agencies and state and territory governments.
This includes organisations with knowledge and relevant experience on:
- waste characterisation
- waste treatment, packaging or transport
- waste storage or disposal, including new and emerging techniques
- earning or maintaining social licence and community consent including with First Nations groups
- meeting or maintaining safety, security and environmental protection including regulatory needs.
We want to hear about your:
- technical capability and capacity in the market
- stakeholder engagement approaches
- compliance with safety, security and environmental regulations.
This RFI is an information-gathering activity. It is not a procurement process, evaluation or pre-qualification. We may use the information we gather in this RFI to inform future procurement. However, participating in the RFI will not advantage you in any future procurement.
Please note that the RFI is not a siting process. The Australian Government is not seeking site nominations for a radioactive waste management facility through this RFI.
