Spill at a nuclear facility shows potential burn risks from a household chemical

Three people were taken to hospital following a chemical spill at the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation facility at Lucas Heights this morning. Despite the Sydney site’s notoriety as home to Australia’s only nuclear reactor, the ANSTO said the spill involved “approx 250mL of sodium hydroxide”, a substance that does not contain radioactive material. Sodium hydroxide can be bought at many supermarkets or hardware stores for less than A$10 a kilogram. Most people will have used sodium hydroxide (NaOH - commonly known as caustic soda or lye) at some point in their life, either in chemistry classes at school or as a strong cleaning agent in the home.