Australia’s ambitious AUKUS security pact, set to deliver nuclear-powered submarines, represents a significant shift in its defence capabilities. However, a less discussed but equally critical aspect of this agreement is the long-term challenge of managing the highly radioactive waste these vessels will generate. As a nation without a civilian nuclear power industry, Australia faces the complex task of developing robust infrastructure and policies for waste stewardship that will endure for millennia.
The AUKUS Agreement and Nuclear Waste Responsibility
The AUKUS agreement, a trilateral security pact between Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States, includes provisions for Australia to acquire conventionally armed, nuclear-powered submarines. A crucial, explicit clause within this pact dictates that Australia will be “solely responsible” for the management, disposition, storage, and disposal of all radioactive waste generated by its own Virginia Class and future SSN-AUKUS submarines. This includes waste from operations, maintenance, decommissioning, and spent nuclear fuel.
Understanding Nuclear Submarine Waste
Nuclear-powered submarines, while offering significant operational advantages, produce various types of radioactive waste. These are categorised based on their radioactivity levels and longevity:
Low-Level Waste (LLW)
Low-level radioactive waste typically includes items exposed to minor radiation during routine operations, such as protective equipment, gloves, and wipes. This type of waste will be generated relatively early in the AUKUS timeline, specifically from 2027, when US and UK nuclear-powered submarines begin rotational visits to HMAS Stirling in Western Australia. Infrastructure works at HMAS Stirling are expected to include an operational waste storage facility for this low-level waste.
Intermediate and High-Level Waste (ILW & HLW)
The most significant and challenging waste streams are intermediate-level waste (ILW) and high-level waste (HLW), particularly the spent nuclear fuel from the submarine reactors. These materials remain dangerously radioactive for hundreds of thousands of years. Australia’s submarines will use highly enriched uranium (HEU) to fuel their sealed reactor units, a choice that eliminates the need for refuelling during the submarine’s operational life but creates a more significant waste problem at the end of its service. The high-level waste from HEU is not only toxic for millennia but also poses a significant proliferation risk, as HEU can be used in nuclear weapons.
Australia’s Current Nuclear Waste Management Landscape
Despite having a strong track record in safely managing radioactive waste from its research reactor and medical isotope production, Australia currently lacks the infrastructure for long-term disposal of high-level nuclear waste.
Absence of a Permanent High-Level Waste Repository
A key challenge for Australia is the absence of an operational geological disposal facility for intermediate or high-level radioactive waste. While plans exist for temporary surface storage of intermediate-level waste at a proposed National Radioactive Waste Management Facility in South Australia, a permanent deep geological repository for the most hazardous waste does not yet exist. This is a critical deficiency, as preparing such a site for waste that remains hazardous for millennia takes decades.
Decades-Long Search for a Site
Australia has been engaged in a challenging and often controversial search for a permanent site for low- and intermediate-level nuclear waste for nearly three decades. Past attempts, such as the proposed facility near Kimba in South Australia, have faced significant community opposition and legal hurdles, leading to delays and restarts in the process. This history underscores the difficulty of gaining “social licence”—ongoing popular and political support—for such facilities, which is often a greater hurdle than technical challenges.
Timeline for High-Level Waste Disposal
The Australian government indicates that high-level nuclear waste from its own submarines will not require disposal until the mid-2050s, coinciding with the expected decommissioning of the first Virginia-class submarine. This timeframe of approximately 30 years is intended to allow for the necessary infrastructure development. However, critics note that no costings have been committed for spent fuel storage, and a site for high-level waste has not yet been identified.
Government Assurances and Public Concerns
The Australian government has sought to reassure the public, with Defence Minister Richard Marles stating that Australia will not accept nuclear waste from other countries “under any circumstances,” only managing waste generated by Australia itself. This commitment is intended to be enshrined in the Australian Naval Nuclear Power Safety Bill 2023, which includes provisions to ban the storage and disposal of used nuclear fuel not associated with Australian submarines.
Despite these assurances, significant concerns persist among opposition parties, environmental groups, and experts.
“Dumping Ground” Fears
Critics, including the Australian Greens and the Australian Conservation Foundation, have voiced strong concerns that Australia could become a “dumping ground” or “poison portal” for international nuclear waste, particularly if legislative loopholes are not fully closed. While the government aims to prevent the storage of foreign spent nuclear fuel, some argue that amendments might still allow for the acceptance of intermediate-level waste from US and UK submarines during rotational visits.
International Precedents and Challenges
The challenge of nuclear waste disposal is not unique to Australia. Even the United States and the United Kingdom, with decades of experience operating nuclear-powered submarines, have struggled to find permanent storage solutions for their own nuclear waste. The US, for instance, has over a hundred decommissioned radioactive reactors in temporary storage in Washington state. This highlights the global difficulty in establishing long-term, secure repositories. Finland, however, offers a potential model, currently building an underground waste repository designed to be sealed for 100,000 years.
Health and Environmental Risks
Beyond the technical and political hurdles of waste disposal, there are concerns about potential health impacts for health workers and the public in the event of a radiation incident or accident related to the nuclear submarines. The long-lived nature of high-level waste also raises fundamental environmental questions, given that the waste remains hazardous for timescales far beyond human civilisation.
The path forward for Australia in managing its AUKUS nuclear waste will require not only significant technological and financial investment but also a concerted effort to build public trust and achieve a social licence for long-term storage solutions.
