GREENPEACE has launched a Federal Court challenge against the granting of a construction licence to build a replacement nuclear reactor at Lucas Heights in southern Sydney.

The Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA) approved a licence for the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) to build the reactor earlier this month.

The Federal Court yesterday granted Greenpeace an expedited hearing for next month.

Greenpeace barrister Patrick Larkin told the court that the hearing was necessary because construction had already begun and millions of taxpayer dollars would be wasted if the project was subsequently declared unlawful.

The original Lucas Heights reactor began operating in 1958 and the isotopes obtained from it are used, among other things, for thediagnosis and treatment of diseases such as thyroid cancer, as well as the detection of cracks in pipes, bridges, roads and aircraft. Operators plan to phase it out once the replacement reactor begins operating in 2006.

Greenpeace nuclear campaigner James Courtney claimed there were serious problems with ANSTO’s nuclear waste management and that the nuclear industry could not manage radioactive waste.

“There is no way of making it safe,” he claimed. “The waste produced by the new reactor in the form of spent nuclear fuel rods can’t be reprocessed in France, it’s illegal to send it to Argentina, and no state in Australia will accept the waste for storage.”

A spokesman for ANSTO said it had been issued with a licence to commence work on the construction of a replacement research reactor and was proceeding to an agreed schedule.

“ANSTO is confident that the Federal Court will confirm that the construction licence issued by ARPANSA is valid,” he said.

A spokesman for ARPANSA said that, on legal advice, he could not comment.

Earlier this month, ARPANSA chief executive officer John Loy said in making the decision to proceed with the new reactor, he had been obliged by law to investigate issues of health and safety, and had been assisted by detailed technical assessments conducted through the International Atomic Energy Agency, among others. Seismic analysis, accident analysis and fuel and waste management were all investigated.

He said a large number of public submissions had been important in focusing his assessment on safety issues. He said the reactor met international best practice in radiation protection and nuclear safety.