Antinuclear

Australian Border Force raid home in Sydney’s south amid reports nuclear isotopes found

Road blocked off in Arncliffe with hazmat officers, but authorities refuse to comment on whether nuclear material was found at the address

Guardian, Tory Shepherd and Catie McLeod 17 Aug 23

The Australian Border Force has raided a home in Sydney’s south amid reports nuclear isotopes have been found.

ABF officers were understood to be at the unit in Kelsey Street in Arncliffe executing a search on another matter when they discovered the potentially hazardous materials.

Channel 10 reported that mercury and a uranium isotope were discovered.

The ABF has not confirmed the presence of anything radioactive, but did confirm it was conducting an operation on Thursday with the support of New South Wales emergency services.

A spokesperson said “all appropriate safety measures are being implemented”.

“People in [the] vicinity of the location are urged to follow all directions from emergency services,” the spokesperson said in a statement.

The apartment block on Kelsey Street remained cordoned off with “hot zone” warning tape on Thursday afternoon and border force officers were inside the property behind a gated area at the entrance to the units.

Neighbours said they remain in the dark about the details of the operation including whether radioactive materials were found at the property………………………..

Channel 10 reported that authorities found the substance uranium 238, a uranium isotope.

Uranium 238 can be used in nuclear reactors and weapons but is also the “most commonly found naturally occurring isotope of uranium”, according to Dr Fiona Helen Panther from the University of Western Australia’s ARC Centre of Excellence for Gravitational Wave Discovery (OzGRav). She said it was hard to estimate its radioactivity.

“It’s a tricky one because it depends how long it’s been around, also what it’s in,” she said.

“It’s when it’s being bombarded with neutrons to split it that it becomes dangerous, but just hanging around in the environment … even a few grams of uranium isn’t going to raise [the background radiation] to a point where people should be concerned.”

…………………………………. Emeritus professor Ian Lowe, a physics and nuclear waste expert from Griffith University’s School of Environment and Science, said an isotope is “just a form of atom that is radioactive”.

If law enforcement officers discovered such a substance, he said, they would pass them on to the regulator – the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (Arpansa).

Lowe says such a discovery would be “unlikely to be intensely radioactive” but no one could know for sure until it was known exactly what was found.

……………. Arpansa did not directly confirm that the isotopes were found but said it was aware of the Australian Border Force operation and the associated media reports.

Asked what the procedure was if someone found nuclear isotopes, the spokesperson said: “If a member of the public discovers or suspects they have discovered nuclear isotopes, they should safely remove themselves from the vicinity and contact triple zero.”

Arpansa has been contacted for comment. https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/aug/17/arncliffe-house-raid-abf-australian-border-force-nuclear-isotopes-news-updates

August 17, 2023 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Uncategorized