New Dust Front: Radiation Fears
Sept. 26, 2009
Visibility in Sydney was at 5,000 metres, compared to 500 metres on Wednesday, when thick red dust blanketed the city.
It's that dust storm which is believed to have originated around Woomera in outback South Australia near the massive Olympic Dam uranium mine, prompting fears it was radioactive and dangerous.
Climatologist Professor Nigel Tapper, from Melbourne's Monash University, played down the risks to humans but said the dust might threaten important eco-systems such as the Great Barrier Reef.
"Certainly the dust storm could have potentially come from those outback areas, we believe it has mainly come from dry lake and creek beds and elsewhere in the Lake Eyre basin," he told AAP.
"That (radioactive) stuff has been spread around over a long time so I would not have thought there would be much of an issue around that.
"The main concern is over fine dust that goes right into the lungs triggering asthma and other respiratory problems."
The scientists were analysing dust that had been blown 2,150km to New Zealand and "fingerprinting" it, and its minerals, to find out where it came from and if it was a threat to the Coral Sea and agriculture.
Today's dust storm was expected to be clear by mid-morning.
The Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) has issued a severe weather warning for damaging winds over the ACT and parts of NSW.
A cold front is moving from the southeast across the rest of the state, bringing raised dust with it.
BoM regional director Barry Hanstrum said the first morning satellite picture showed a band of dust stretching from southeast NSW to the northern parts of the state, covering the Sydney area.
The dust storm hit central western NSW, including Bathurst and Orange, in the early morning and had started to clear by about 7.30am (AEST).
"We've got an area of widespread dust but not as thick as it was on Wednesday, which is likely to clear through the metropolitan area through mid-morning," Mr Hanstrum said.
www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/new-dust-front-radiation-fears/story-e6freuy9-1225779802758