Australia - Hazmat Accident - Radioactive Material Spill EDIS CODE: HZ-20140120-42375-AUS Date & Time: 2014-01-20 10:04:28 [UTC] Area: Australia, State of New South Wales, Cliftleigh A radioactive substance has been released into the soil at a new housing development in Cliftleigh. Six fire crews were called to the housing estate off Main Road at 5.30pm yesterday after a bulldozer ran over a densometer and smashed it and its radioactive substance into the ground. A densometer is a probe used in geotechnical engineering and it had been put in the ground to determine the depth of the soil. Firefighters said the device contained a small radioactive isotope which had broken during the impact from the earth moving machine. Firefighters wore protective gear and used specific equipment to measure the level of radioactive activity in the soil. They then treated the incident using HAZMAT techniques. Police were also called to the incident and set up an exclusion zone around the estate. One resident who witnessed the clean up, but did not want to be identified, said it was concerning that the radioactive substance had entered the soil. She was worried about the impact it would have on the environment. Another resident was worried the substance might have already damaged the soil.
Posted on: Tue, 21 Jan 2014 01:42:40 +0000
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