The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organization (ANSTO) have agreed to collaborate on enhancing the use of advanced nuclear technologies, including isotopic, accelerator and research reactor-based techniques, to respond to recent environmental challenges and contribute to a sustainable environment.
A new agreement was signed this week in which the IAEA has redesignated ANSTO as an IAEA Collaborating Centre until 2025. Under the agreement, the two organizations will implement joint research programs in areas such as groundwater, marine environment and air pollution. Joint activities will include cover provenance and authentication of illicit trade goods and objects, natural and cultural heritage. Through the application of nuclear techniques, scientists can analyze the composition of cultural and natural heritage objects and can determine how and when they were created.
Najat Mokhtar, is the IAEA Deputy Director General and Head of the Department of Nuclear Sciences and Applications. At the signing ceremony for the new agreement on March 8th, she said, “The role of nuclear technologies in mitigating and adapting to climate change is becoming increasingly important. Both institutions have been working on climate change issues and we hope we can have the opportunity to share them in Glasgow.” This was a reference to the United Nations Climate Change Conference COP26 to be held in November 2021.
Suzanne Hollins is the Head of Research, Nuclear Science and Technology at ANSTO. She said, “ANSTO has a long-standing collaboration with the IAEA and the new topic of our agreement gives many opportunities ahead, covering most of the Unites Nations Sustainable Development Goals.” Hollins is also the Chairperson of the Agency’s Standing Advisory Group for Nuclear Applications (SAGNA). This group gives recommendations directly to the IAEA Director General.
There are multiple ways in which nuclear technologies can contribute to a sustainable environment. By investigating materials down to the atomic level, experts can study the climate from the past and present to help understand climate change, investigate the variability of greenhouse gases and create new materials for green technologies such as photovoltaic cells.
Isotopic dating is applied to analyze climate change archives such as corals and lake sediments. This provides data on how the environment has responded to climate change in the past. This information is critical to understanding the occurrence of dangerous algal blooms, increased coastal pollution and changing rainfall patterns. Other nuclear techniques such as ion beam analysis are used to trace the source of air pollution by examining the elemental composition of tiny atmospheric aerosol particles with a size up to ten micrometers. These particles can travel down into people’s lungs and endanger health.
The two organizations intend to join forces to boost the use of nuclear techniques in water resource management by using isotopic tools to investigate key water quality issues in different regions. The joint research programs will check isotopic data to better understand the interactions between surface and ground water. This knowledge can be applied to optimize policies and strategies for sustainable water resource management. This data will also be used to update IAEA global water isotope databases such as the Global Network of Isotopes in Precipitation (GNIP).
ANSTO has been an IAEA Collaboration Center for more than ten years and it has supported IAEA activities mainly in neutron activation analysis and neutron scattering research. This new collaboration’s focus on sustainable environments indicates the programmatic priorities of both organizations.
There are many areas where the IAEA and ANSTO collaborate which are outside of the scope of the new agreement. This includes the commitment of both organizations to achieving gender equity and encourage women to find careers in STEM. In 2020, the two organizations hosted a virtual two-week training course for fifty-nine female educators across Asia and the Pacific region on how to better communication on topics related to nuclear science and technology. A recent IAEA webinar was present that encouraged women to seek careers in accelerator science and technology. The webinar featured Ceri Brenner, Leader of ANSTO’s Center for Accelerator Science.
Shaun Jenkinson is ANSTO’s CEO. At the signing ceremony, she said, “On today’s International Women’s Day, it is important to celebrate the progress that has been made in gender equality in nuclear sciences and applications. But we should be also intolerant to the slow speed of change in some areas and acknowledge that there is still much work to be done.”