Commonwealth Numbered Regulations

[Index] [Table] [Search] [Search this Regulation] [Notes] [Noteup] [Previous] [Download] [Help]

1995 No. 71 CUSTOMS (PROHIBITED EXPORTS) REGULATIONS (AMENDMENT) - REG 2

2. Schedule 9 (Nuclear-specific goods (exportation prohibited except on production of approval under regulation 11)
2.1 Item 3.7:
Omit "liquid metal as", substitute "the".

2.2 Sub-subparagraphs 7.1 (a) (i) (B) and (a) (ii) (C):
Omit "a", substitute "1 or more".

2.3 Sub-subparagraphs 7.1 (a) (i) (B) and (a) (ii) (C):
Omit "material;", substitute "materials;".

2.4 Sub-subparagraph 7.1 (b) (ii) (A):
Omit "polished into", substitute "with".

2.5 Sub-subparagraph 7.1 (b) (iii) (D):
Omit the sub-subparagraph, substitute:

"(D) a length equal to or greater than the diameter;".

2.6 Subparagraph 7.1 (b):
Add at the end:

"(v) centrifuge housing/recipients, having components especially designed or
prepared to contain the rotor tube assembly of a gas centrifuge, with housing
made of or protected by materials resistant to corrosion by UF6 and consisting
of a rigid cylinder of wall thickness up to 30 mm with precision machined ends
to locate the bearings and with one or more flanges for mounting, machined
ends that are parallel to each other and perpendicular to the cylinder s
longitudinal axis to within 0.05 degrees;

        (vi)   scoops that are especially designed or prepared tubes of up to
               12 mm internal diameter for the extraction of UF6 gas from
               within the rotor tube by a Pitot tube action (that is, with an
               aperture facing into the circumferential gas flow within the
               rotor tube, for example by bending the ends of a radially
               disposed tube) and capable of being fixed to the central gas
               extraction system, with the tubes made of or protected by
               materials resistant to corrosion by UF6."

2.7 Items 7.5 and 7.6:
Omit the items, substitute:

"7.5 Systems, equipment and components especially designed or prepared for use
in aerodynamic enrichment plants, being systems, equipment or components of
the following kinds:

   (a)  separation nozzles and assemblies of nozzles, with the separation
        nozzles consisting of slit-shaped, curved channels having a radius of
        curvature less than 1 mm (typically 0.1 to 0.05 mm), resistant to
        corrosion by UF6 and having a knife-edge within the nozzle that
        separates the gas flowing through the nozzle into 2 fractions;

   (b)  vortex tubes and assemblies of vortex tubes, with the vortex tubes
        being cylindrical or tapered, made of or protected by materials
        resistant to corrosion by UF6, having a diameter of between 0.5 cm and
        4 cm, a length or diameter ratio of 20:1 or less and 1 or more
        tangential inlets;

   (c)  axial, centrifugal or positive displacement compressors or gas blowers
        made of or protected by materials resistant to corrosion by UF6 and
        having a suction volume capacity of 2m3/minute or more of UF6/carrier
        gas (hydrogen or helium) mixture;

   (d)  rotary shaft seals, with seal feed and seal exhaust connections, for
        sealing the shaft connecting the compressor rotor or the gas blower
        rotor with the driver motor so as to ensure a reliable seal against
        out-leakage of process gas or in-leakage of air or seal gas into the
        inner changer of the compressor or gas blower which is filled with a
        UF6/carrier gas mixture;

   (e)  heat exchangers for gas cooling made of or protected by materials
        resistant to corrosion by UF6;

   (f)  separation element housings made of or protected by materials
        resistant to corrosion by UF6, for containing vortex tubes or
        separation nozzles;

   (g)  feed systems/product and tails withdrawal systems for enrichment
        plants made of or protected by materials resistant to corrosion by
        UF6, including:

        (i)    feed autoclaves, ovens, or systems used for passing UF6 to the
               enrichment process; and

        (ii)   desublimers (or cold traps) used to remove UF6 from the
               enrichment process for subsequent transfer upon heating; and

        (iii)  solidification or liquefaction stations used to remove UF6 from
               the enrichment process by compressing and converting UF6 to a
               liquid or solid form: and

        (iv)   'product' or 'tails' stations used for transferring UF6 into
               containers;

   (h)  header piping systems made of or protected by materials resistant to
        corrosion by UF6, for handling UF6 within aerodynamic cascades;

   (i)  vacuum systems and pumps that are:

        (i)    vacuum systems having a suction capacity of 5m3/minute or more,
               consisting of vacuum manifolds, vacuum headers and vacuum
               pumps, and designed for service in UF6 bearing atmospheres; or

        (ii)   vacuum pumps for service in UF6 bearing atmospheres and made of
               or protected by materials resistant to corrosion by UF6;

   (j)  special shut-off and control valves that are manual or automated
        shut-off and control bellows valves, made of or protected by materials
        resistant to corrosion by UF6, with a diameter of 40 to 1500 mm for
        installation in main and auxiliary systems of aerodynamic enrichment
        plants;

   (k)  UF6 mass spectrometers/ion sources that are magnetic or quadrupole
        mass spectrometers capable of taking 'on-line' samples of feed,
        'product' or 'tails' from UF6 gas streams, and having:

        (i)    unit resolution for mass greater than 320; and

        (ii)   ion sources, constructed of or lined with nichrome or monel, or
               nickel plated; and

        (iii)  electron bombardment ionisation sources; and

        (iv)   ollector system suitable for isotopic analysis;

   (l)  UF6/carrier gas systems for separating UF6 from carrier gas (hydrogen
        or helium).



"7.6 Systems, equipment and components especially designed or prepared for use
in chemical exchange or ion exchange enrichment plants, being systems,
equipment or components of the following kinds:

   (a)  countercurrent liquid-liquid exchange columns having mechanical power
        input (that is, pulsed columns with sieve plates, reciprocating plate
        columns, and columns with internal turbine mixers), for uranium
        enrichment using the chemical exchange process and, for corrosion
        resistance to concentrated hydrochloric acid solutions, the exchange
        columns and their internals are made of or protected by suitable
        plastic materials (such as fluorocarbon polymers) or glass, and with
        the stage residence time of the columns designed to be short (that is,
        30 seconds or less);

   (b)  liquid-liquid centrifugal contactors for uranium enrichment using the
        chemical exchange process and rotation to achieve dispersion of the
        organic and aqueous streams and then centrifugal force to separate the
        phases and, for corrosion resistance to concentrated hydrochloric acid
        solutions, the contactors are made of or lined with suitable plastic
        materials (such as fluorocarbon polymers) or lined with glass, and
        with the stage residence time of the contactors designed to be short
        (that is, 30 seconds or less);

   (c)  uranium reduction systems and equipment that are:

        (i)    electrochemical reduction cells to reduce uranium from one
               valence state to another for uranium enrichment using the
               chemical exchange process, with the cell materials in contact
               with process solutions corrosion resistant to concentrated
               hydrochloric acid solutions; or

        (ii)   systems at the product end of the cascade for taking the U+4
               out of the organic stream, adjusting the acid concentration and
               feeding to the electrochemical reduction cells;

   (d)  feed preparation systems for producing high-purity uranium chloride
        feed solutions for chemical exchange uranium isotope separation
        plants;

   (e)  uranium oxidation systems for oxidation of U+3 to U+4 for return to
        the uranium isotope separation cascade in the chemical exchange
        enrichment process;

   (f)  fast-reacting ion exchange resins/adsorbents that:

        (i)    are for uranium enrichment using the ion exchange process,
               including porous macroreticular resins or pellicular structures
               in which the active chemical exchange groups are limited to a
               coating on the surface of an inactive porous support structure,
               and other composite structures in any suitable form including
               particles or fibres; and

        (ii)   having diameters of 0.2 mm or less and chemically resistant to
               concentrated hydrochloric acid solutions as well as physically
               strong enough so as not to degrade in the exchange columns; and

        (iii)  especially designed to achieve very fast uranium isotope
               exchange kinetics (exchange rate half-time of less than 10
               seconds) and capable of operating at a temperature in the range
               of 100 degrees C to 200 degrees C;

   (g)  ion exchange columns that are cylindrical columns greater than 1000 mm
        in diameter for containing and supporting packed beds of ion exchange
        resin/adsorbent, for uranium enrichment using the ion exchange
        process, with the columns made of or protected by materials (such as
        titanium or fluorocarbon plastics) resistant to corrosion by
        concentrated hydrochloric acid solutions and capable of operating at a
        temperature in the range of 100 degrees C to 200 degrees C and
        pressures above 0.7 MPa;

   (h)  ion exchange reflux systems that are:

        (i)    chemical or electrochemical reduction systems for regeneration
               of the chemical reducing agent or agents used in ion exchange
               uranium enrichment cascades; or

        (ii)   chemical or electrochemical oxidation systems for regeneration
               of the chemical oxidising agent or agents used in ion exchange
               uranium enrichment cascades.



"7.7 Systems, equipment and components especially designed or prepared for use
in laser-based enrichment plants, being systems, equipment or components of
the following kinds:

   (a)  uranium vaporisation systems containing high-power strip or scanning
        electron beam guns with a delivered power on the target of more than
        2.5 kW/cm;

   (b)  liquid uranium metal handling systems for molten uranium or uranium
        alloys, consisting of crucibles and cooling equipment for the
        crucibles;

   (c)  uranium metal 'product' and 'tails' collector assemblies for uranium
        metal in liquid or solid form;

   (d)  separator module housings comprising cylindrical or rectangular
        vessels for containing the uranium metal vapor source, the electron
        beam gun and the 'product' and 'tails' collectors;

   (e)  supersonic expansion nozzles for cooling mixtures of UF6 and carrier
        gas to 150K or less and that are corrosion resistant to UF6;

   (f)  uranium pentafluoride (UF5) solid product collectors consisting of
        filter, impact, or cyclone-type collectors or combinations, and that
        are corrosion resistant to the UF5/UF6 environment;

   (g)  UF6/carrier gas compressors for UF6/carrier gas mixtures, designed for
        long term operation in a UF6 environment, and having components that
        come into contact with process gas and are made of or protected by
        materials resistant to corrosion by UF6;

   (h)  rotary shaft seals, with seal feed and seal exhaust connections, for
        sealing the shaft connecting the compressor rotor with the driver
        motor so as to ensure a reliable seal against out-leakage of process
        gas or in-leakage of air or seal gas into the inner chamber of the
        compressor that is filled with a UF6/carrier gas mixture;

   (i)  fluorination systems for fluorinating UF5 (solid) to UF6 (gas);

   (j)  UF6 mass spectrometers/ion sources that are magnetic or quadrupole
        mass spectrometers capable of taking 'on-line' samples of feed,
        'product' or 'tails', from UF6 gas streams and having:

        (i)    unit resolution for mass greater than 320; and

        (ii)   ion sources constructed of or lined with nichrome or monel or
               nickel plated; and

        (iii)  electron bombardment ionisation sources; and

        (iv)   collector system suitable for isotopic analysis;

   (k)  process systems or equipment for enrichment plants made of or
        protected by materials resistant to corrosion by UF6, including:

        (i)    feed autoclaves, ovens, or systems used for passing UF6 to the
               enrichment process; and

        (ii)   desublimers (or cold traps) used to remove UF6 from the
               enrichment process for subsequent transfer upon heating; and

        (iii)  solidification or liquefaction stations used to remove UF6 from
               the enrichment process by compressing and converting UF6 to a
               liquid or solid form; and

        (iv)   'product' or 'tails' stations used for transferring UF6 into
               containers;

   (l)  UF6/carrier gas separation process systems for separating UF6 from
        carrier gas (whether nitrogen, argon, or other gas);

   (m)  laser systems for the separation of uranium isotopes.



"7.8 Systems, equipment and components especially designed or prepared for use
in plasma separation enrichment plants, being systems, equipment or components
of the following kinds:

   (a)  microwave power sources and antennae for producing or accelerating
        ions and having:

        (i)    greater than 30 GHz frequency; and

        (ii)   greater than 50kW mean power output for ion production;

   (b)  radio frequency ion excitation coils for frequencies of more than 100
        kHz and capable of handling more than 40 kW mean power;

   (c)  uranium plasma generation systems;

   (d)  liquid-uranium metal-handling systems, for molten uranium or uranium
        alloys, consisting of crucibles and cooling equipment for the
        crucibles;

   (e)  uranium metal 'product' and 'tails' collector assemblies for uranium
        metal in solid form and made of or protected by materials resistant to
        the heat and corrosion of uranium metal vapor, such as yttria-coated
        graphite or tantalum;

   (f)  separator module housings that are cylindrical vessels for use in
        plasma separation enrichment plants for containing the uranium plasma
        source, radio-frequency drive coil and the 'product' and 'tails'
        collectors.



"7.9 Systems, equipment and components especially designed or prepared for use
in electro-magnetic enrichment plants, being systems, equipment or components
of the following kinds:

   (a)  electromagnetic isotope separators for the separation of uranium
        isotopes, and equipment and components therefor, including:

        (i)    single or multiple uranium ion sources consisting of a vapor
               source, ioniser, and beam accelerator, constructed of suitable
               materials such as graphite, stainless steel, or copper, and
               capable of providing a total ion beam current of at least 50
               mA;

        (ii)   ion collector plates consisting of 2 or more slits and pockets,
               for collection of enriched and depleted uranium ion beams and
               constructed of suitable materials such as graphite or stainless
               steel;

        (iii)  vacuum housings for uranium electromagnetic separators,
               constructed of suitable non-magnetic materials such as
               stainless steel and designed for operation at pressures of 0.1
               Pa or lower;

        (iv)   magnet pole pieces, having a diameter greater than 2 m, for
               maintaining a constant magnetic field within an electromagnetic
               isotope separator and for transferring the magnetic field
               between adjoining separators;

   (b)  high voltage power supplies for ion sources, having:

        (i)    capacity for continuous operation; and

        (ii)   output voltage of at least 20,000 V; and

        (iii)  output current of 1 A or greater; and

        (iv)   voltage regulation of better than 0.01% over a period of 8
               hours;

   (c)  high-power, direct current magnet power supplies having:

        (i)    capacity for continuously producing a current output of at
               least 500 A at a voltage of at least 100 V; and

        (ii)   a current or voltage regulation better than 0.01% over a period
               of 8 hours.".

2.8 Schedule 9:
Add at the end:

"PART 12-PLANTS AND EQUIPMENT FOR THE CONVERSION OF URANIUM

"12.1 Systems especially designed or prepared for the conversion of uranium
ore concentrates to UO3.

"12.2 Systems especially designed or prepared for the conversion of UO3 to
UF6.

"12.3 Systems especially designed or prepared for the conversion of UO3 to
UO2.

"12.4 Systems especially designed or prepared for the conversion of UO2 to
UF4.

"12.5 Systems especially designed or prepared for the conversion of UF4 to
UF6.

"12.6 Systems especially designed or prepared for the conversion of UF4 to
uranium metal.

"12.7 Systems especially designed or prepared for the conversion of UF6 to
UO2.

"12.8 Systems especially designed or prepared for the conversion of UF6 to
UF4.". 


AustLII: Copyright Policy | Disclaimers | Privacy Policy | Feedback