A small amount of radioactive waste created by ACT laboratories is currently buried at the Mugga Lane tip, stored at the Canberra Hospital, or disposed of in general waste under strict conditions.

On Thursday, the Turnbull government released a shortlist of six sites that are in the running to host Australia's first permanent nuclear waste dump for low-level and intermediate waste.

The six sites have been chosen from 28 voluntarily nominated sites around Australia and are at Sallys Flat in NSW, Hale in the Northern Territory, Cortlinye, Pinkawillinie and Barndioota in South Australia and Oman Ama in Queensland.

A shorter list of three sites will be released next year and by the end of 2016, after the next federal election, the government will finally name its preferred site, which is due to be operating by the end of the decade.

An ACT Health spokesman said it was possible some radioactive waste in Canberra could be transported to a waste dump in coming years.

"ACT Health has a very low level radioactive waste handling facility at Canberra Hospital that holds a variety of unused radioactive material awaiting disposal as waste," he said.

"For some unused radioactive material we wait for it to decay to a safe level so that it can be disposed of as normal waste, as per legislation and radiation safety protocols."

A Department of Industry and Science spokesperson said the facility would receive low to intermediate levels of radioactive waste from across Australia.

"This will be discussed with the states and territories and other waste holders during the development of the facility design and the detailed business case," the spokesman said.

The health spokesman said radioactive material was used to measure the behaviour of cells and to test and develop more clinically effective techniques.

"More importantly, we use radioactive materials to diagnose diseases such as cancer and to treat these diseases," he said. "An example of treating a patient with radioactive material is using radioactive iodine to treat thyroid cancer."

Tony Irwin, who teaches nuclear science at the Australian National University, said low level radioactive waste was stored at hospitals and universities all across the nation.

"International best practice is to have a central disposal facility and most countries in the world with any sort of nuclear activities already have this type of near surface facility," he said.

Australia has the equivalent of about two Olympic-sized swimming pools of low-level nuclear waste at 100 sites across the country and the facility will store this waste, as well as low and intermediate-level radioactive waste from the Lucas Heights facility in Sydney.

The ACT government had warned it would reject any move to build a nuclear waste facility in the territory, while admitting it was extremely unlikely.

Australian-produced waste that had been sent to France, the US and Britain between 1996 and 2009 is due to be returned to Australia under international agreement, with a load from France currently en route back to Australia and due to arrive at Port Kembla later this month.

with James Massola