The Wire

Australian police have revealed that the nuclear reactor at Sydney’s Lucas Heights is a potential terrorism target. Three suspects have already been arrested for allegedly planning an attack, but Mohhamed Elomar, Mazen Touma and Abdul Rakib Hasan, still claim innocence. The reactor at Lucas Heights was criticised recently for operating within close proximity to Sydney’s Southern suburbs, one of Australia’s most densly populated areas. Up to 13,000 people from nearby suburbs will be evacuated from their homes, and provided with iodine tablets if something goes wrong at the nuclear plant, under NSW government policies to protect the local community. But a report by the NSW Health department suggests that public paranoya would be the biggest threat if the reactor was hit, and chances of a real physical danger are low. The Wire’s Hagar Cohen spoke earlier to Craig Pearce from ANSTO, Lucas Heights’ operator, and NSW Greens’ senator Kerry Nettle about the recent terrorism threats on Lucas Heights.