Dr Clinton Fernandes is challenging the decision of the National Archives of Australia to withhold the publication of historical documents relating to Australian Secret Intelligence Service (ASIS) operations between 1971-1974 in Chile, plus records about Australia’s involvement in the overthrow of President Salvador.
BARBARA ETSCHMANN, JOEL BRUGGER & VANESSA WONG, THE CONVERSATION
24 MAY 2021
Almost 60 years after British nuclear tests ended, radioactive particles containing plutonium and uranium still contaminate the landscape around Maralinga in outback South Australia.
These hot particles are not as stable as we once assumed. Our research shows they are likely releasing tiny chunks of plutonium and uranium which can be easily transported in dust and water, inhaled by humans and wildlife and taken up by plants.
British nuclear tests left behind a radioactive legacy. (National Archives of Australia)
A British nuclear playground
After the US atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, other nations raced to build their own nuclear weapons. Britain was looking for locations to conduct its tests. When it approached the Australian government in the early 1950s, Australia was only too eager to agree.