Radiation found at planned studio site
19.07.2008
SOIL removed from the land on which the ABC wanted to build its new Brisbane studios was classified as ``heavy metals and radiation'', according to documents filed in the Queensland Supreme Court as part of the broadcaster's bid to have its deposit returned.
The Brisbane operations of the ABC are being run out of a variety of offices around the city after its suburban Toowong headquarters was closed after 16 women who worked there were diagnosed with breast cancer.
The ABC has been looking for new headquarters since abandoning the Toowong site last year. In November, it paid $1.5million as a deposit for a site at inner-city Newstead, which had previously been used as a car yard.
Documents filed in the court by the ABC in its action against developers Watdev -- a subsidiary of Watpac -- state that from March to May this year, Earth Tech Engineering undertook the remediation of the Newstead property on behalf of Watdev and they commissioned Queensland Health Forensic and Scientific Services to perform a radiological assessment of the property.
Its report revealed unacceptably high levels of surface gamma radiation, uranium and thorium radionucline activity.
The report said surface gamma dose levels were greater than those recommended by Queensland Health and the material was not exempt from disposal requirements prescribed in the Radiation Safety Act.
The radioactive constituents (uranium and thorium) of the material suggested radon gas emanation would occur and might provide a significant exposure pathway from large deposits of the material if retained on the site.
The site would also require extensive validation via surface gamma radiation survey on completion of remedial works to ensure external gamma radiation levels were returned to local background levels.
In May, about 1600cum of radioactive soil was removed.
The court documents state that on June 3, the ABC became aware that some of the lots comprising the property were the subject of off-site disposal permits for heavy metals and radiation. In other words, it was a contamination dump site.
``Because of the plaintiff's Toowong experience, any radiation contamination of the new site would be of concern to the plaintiff,'' the documents state.
