Two workers at a newly opened nuclear facility in southern Sydney have been exposed to an unsafe dose of radiation.
A spokesman for the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) told news.com.au an urgent investigation was launched and production was ceased following “a safety incident” at the new $168m nuclear medicine facility at Lucas Heights late last week.
In a statement, he said that, on Friday morning, three of the facility’s workers were “attended to by radiation protection personnel” contamination was detected.
The radiation was detected on the outside of a container holding 42 millilitres of Molybdenum-99 (Mo-99).
Mo-99 is used in hospitals and nuclear medicine centres to diagnose a variety of heart, lung, organ and muscular-skeletal conditions.
“Three ANSTO workers were attended to by radiation protection personnel, and initial indications are that two of these workers received a radiation dose above the statutory limit,” the spokesman said in a statement.
“An investigation commenced on Friday, and both the nuclear regulator, ARPANSA, and Comcare have been informed. An estimate of the radiation dose will be confirmed in coming weeks.”
ANSTO says early calculations show the radiation dose received by two of the workers involved in medicine processing, was equivalent to that of a conventional radiation therapy treatment.
“An occupational physician will continue to provide ongoing observation. All three workers involved are receiving ongoing support from ANSTO,” the spokesman said.
“Vital supplies of Molybdenum-99 nuclear medicine are currently being provided through alternative facilities at ANSTO, while the investigation is underway.”
The nuclear medicine facility was only given the green light to begin full domestic production on June 13.
It was announced by the federal government in 2012 with the goal of tripling Australian production of Mo-99 — which is the first step in producing technetium-99m (Tc-99m), an isotope needed for the production of 85 per cent of Australian nuclear medicine procedures.
During its opening, ANSTO CEO Dr Adi Paterson said the facility is the “most advanced and safest manufacturing facility for nuclear medicine on the planet today”.
Friday’s incident is the second contamination scare at the Lucas Heights facility this year.
Three workers at the nuclear facility were taken to hospital after they were exposed to sodium hydroxide in March — when a cap came off a pipe.
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