Audit nuke risk at Lucas Heights: Greens

(AAP) - There are new calls for an independent audit into the Lucas Heights nuclear facility, with a whistleblower claiming staff are at risk from serious safety breaches.

A suspended employee of the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation
(ANSTO) facility in Sydney's south has gone public with claims a worker was exposed
to a "massive" dose of radiation in a 2008 accident.
David Reid was a health and safety officer at ANSTO's Radiopharmaceuticals and
Industrials business, ARI, and says a vial of highly radioactive material was
dropped, but wasn't reported for hours.
The dose the employee was exposed to was so large, instruments could not measure it,
he said.
A report into the incident by the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety
Agency (ARPANSA), obtained by AAP, described the dose as "higher than necessary" but
"relatively small".
But it does highlight areas where safety was found wanting, and a general
complacency about safety improvements.
"Inspectors were concerned by the apparent lack of awareness for the safety of other
staff working in the facility and the lack of awareness of a potential hazard," the
report said.
Mr Reid has claimed the employee concerned reported an elevated white blood cell
count, and was not offered support for 12 months.
But an ANSTO spokesman said the accident was examined in a series of internal
investigations and the ARPANSA report.
Mr Reid was not qualified in radiation or medical science and his claims were wrong,
the spokesman said.
"There were no radiation exposures to employees outside normal occupational levels,"
he said in a statement.
"However, legitimate concerns about training and procedures in the (separate)
medical isotope production facility have since been addressed."
ANSTO added Mr Reid had been suspended because of allegations about his conduct, not
because he raised safety concerns, and it had offered the employee from the 2008
incident support when he fronted to the medical centre 12 months after the incident.
"The professional medical advice he received was that his condition was related to
an infection he picked up on an overseas holiday," the statement said.
But the Australian Greens, who have been raising concerns about safety at Lucas
Heights for months, now want an independent safety audit there.
Senator Scott Ludlam said the Greens learned radioactive vials were regularly
dropped in October last year.
"This raises serious questions about the way ANSTO and ARI manage the facility and
its capacity to keep workers safe," he said.
"The commonwealth government must insist on a thorough independent audit of the
ageing isotope production facility to ensure the workforce is protected."