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Australian Atomic Energy Commission

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

HIFAR reactor at Lucas Heights, 1958

The Australian Atomic Energy Commission (AAEC) was a statutory body of the Australian Government devoted to nuclear science, engineering and research.

It was established in 1952, replacing the Atomic Energy Policy Committee. In 1981, parts of the Commission were split off to become part of the CSIRO, the remainder continuing until 1987, when it was replaced by the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO). The Commission’s head office was based in the heritage-listed house Cliffbrook in Coogee, Sydney, New South Wales,[1] while its main facilities were located at the Atomic Energy Research Establishment at Lucas Heights, to the south of Sydney, established in 1958.

Highlights of the Commission's history included:

Other significant facilities constructed by the Commission at Lucas Heights included a 3MeV Van de Graaff particle accelerator, installed in 1964 to provide proton beams and now upgraded to become ANTARES, a smaller 1.3MeV betatron, and radioisotope production and remote handling facilities associated with HIFAR reactor.

Significant research work included:

References

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  1. ^ "Cliffbrook". New South Wales State Heritage Register. Department of Planning & Environment. H00609. Retrieved 2 June 2018. Text is licensed by State of New South Wales (Department of Planning and Environment) under CC-BY 4.0 licence.
  2. ^ A. W. Pryor, Personal memories of two advanced uranium enrichment projects at Lucas Heights in the years 1972-1980, The Australian & New Zealand Physicist 33 (3-4), 53-58 (1997).
  3. ^ F. J. Duarte, Tunable lasers for atomic vapor laser isotope separation: the Australian contribution, Australian Physics 47(2), 38-40 (2010) Archived 2015-02-21 at the Wayback Machine.