Customs (Prohibited Exports) Regulations (Amendment) (Cth)

Statutory Rules 1995

No. 71 1

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Customs (Prohibited Exports) Regulations 2(Amendment)

I, The Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia, acting with the advice of the Federal Executive Council, make the following Regulations under the Customs Act 1901.

Dated 4 April 1995.

BILL HAYDEN

Governor-General

By His Excellency’s Command,

C. SCHACHT

Minister for Small Business, Customs and Construction

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1. Amendment

1.1 The Customs (Prohibited Exports) Regulations are amended as set out in these Regulations.

[NOTE: These Regulations commence on gazettal: see Acts Interpretation Act 1901, s. 48.]

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) collector 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° C to 200° 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° C to 200° 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.”.

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NOTES

1. Notified in the Commonwealth of Australia Gazette on 11 April 1995.
2. Statutory Rules 1958 No. 5 as amended by 1959 No. 5; 1961 Nos. 16 and 112; 1963 Nos. 129 and 130; 1964 No. 144; 1965 No. 136; 1966 Nos. 70 and 75; 1967 Nos. 42, 59 and 123; 1968 Nos. 46, 83, 101, 153, 160 and 162; 1969 Nos. 11, 21, 22 and 219; 1970 Nos. 34, 68, 89, 106 and 121; 1972 No. 210; 1973 Nos. 4, 7, 39, 74, 102, 138, 218 and 248; 1974 Nos. 46, 157, 178 and 250; 1975 Nos. 19, 44, 45, 173 and 224; 1976 Nos. 169 and 233; 1977 No. 89; 1978 Nos. 14, 58, 59 and 277; 1979 Nos. 160 and 237; 1980 Nos. 21, 61, 72, 76, 82, 99, 110, 212, 273, 358, 381 and 383; 1981 Nos. 49, 72, 86, 149, 225, 251 and 324; 1982 Nos. 169, 171 and 310; 1983 No. 272; 1984 Nos. 35, 63, 191, 262, 263 and 316; 1985 Nos. 1, 68, 138 and 378; 1986 Nos. 76, 89, 177, 178, 328, 364, 365, 366 and 388; 1987 Nos. 97, 115, 156, 176, 301, 317, 318 and 319; 1988 Nos. 65, 178, 195 and 361; 1989 Nos. 57, 59, 196, 264 and 388; 1990 Nos. 125, 146, 190, 264, 333 and 438; 1991 Nos. 24, 77, 118, 288 and 413; 1992 Nos. 61, 83, 103, 155, 412 and 414; 1993 Nos. 68, 212, 258 and 322; 1994 Nos. 32, 143, 172, 242, 313, 379, 392 and 416.