On 4 September 2008 Senator Ludlam asked the Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research:

(1) Since its opening in April 2007, what is the total number of days the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) OPAL research reactor 31 km from Sydney at Lucas Heights functioned as compared to the number of days it has been inoperative?

(2) What cost has been incurred to Australia through the closure of the reactor, the required attempted repairs and the limited function of the reactor since it was restarted?

(3) Can the Minister provide a breakdown of this total costing?

(4) How much of this cost may be expected to be recovered from INVAP?

(5) What measures is the Government pursuing in order to recover these costs?

(6) Given the ongoing problems with the reactor, does the Minister concur with the description on ANSTO's website describing the OPAL reactor as "world-class"?

(7) What was the total cost for the construction of the OPAL research reactor?

(8) What are the ongoing annual maintenance and running costs of the OPAL reactor?

(9) Can the Minister provide a breakdown of the annual revenues which were projected to be derived from the operations of the OPAL reactor?

(10) Can the Minister provide a breakdown of the annual revenues which are actually derived from the operations of the OPAL reactor?

(11) Given that the OPAL reactor has been unable to deliver what it promised – four times the amount of radioisotopes for nuclear medicine than its predecessor, and related expansion in the nation's capacity for nuclear medicine – from which countries and companies did Australia source its isotopes from during the reactors inactivity?

(12) What contingency measures is the government putting in place to provide for long-term alternatives to production of radioisotopes from the OPAL reactor?