<description>&lt;p&gt;This episode of Nuclear Matters takes us to Montebello Island, a former UK nuclear weapons test site off the coast of Western Australia. Our guest is &lt;a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://physics.anu.edu.au/contact/people/profile.php?ID=3574"&gt;Madison Williams-Hoffman&lt;/a&gt; – or Maddy, for short. Maddy is a postdoctoral fellow at the &lt;a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://radinnovate.au"&gt;Radinnovate ARC Training Centre for Radiation Innovation&lt;/a&gt; at ANU. She uses chemistry to explore how plutonium from the weapons tests carried out in that region have moved through the marine environment.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;She has kindly joined us to talk us through what she’s found, and help us understand why it matters for our explorations of future uses of nuclear technologies.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Credits&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Guest: Madison Williams-Hoffman&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Host: Liz Williams&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Audio producer: Martin Franklin (&lt;a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://eastcoaststudio.com.au"&gt;East Coast Studio&lt;/a&gt;)&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Contacts&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;If you are interested in projects and wish to contact Maddy about collaborating or joining the group as a student, you can reach her via the email on &lt;a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://physics.anu.edu.au/contact/people/profile.php?ID=3574"&gt;this webpage&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Further reading&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/jun/23/plutonium-levels-nuclear-test-site-wa-montebello-islands-study"&gt;The Guardian article on Maddy's work&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0025326X25007556"&gt;The paper mentioned in the article&lt;/a&gt; (with Maddy as lead author)&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Acknowledgements&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Thanks to Nanda Dasgupta for introducing us to Maddy.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Errata&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Maddy flagged that the Plutonium ratio they usually look at is 240Pu/239Pu, rather than 239Pu/240Pu.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The usual end matter&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Nuclear Matters is a production of the Australian National University College of Systems and Society. We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the lands on which this podcast is being recorded on or listened to, and pay our respects to their Elders – and all First Nations people.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;If you want to send us some feedback on an episode, email us at &lt;a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="mailto:nuclearmatterspodcast@anu.edu.au"&gt;nuclearmatterspodcast@anu.edu.au&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Keep in mind that this podcast is intended for information and education only. The views and opinions expressed in each episode are those of the individual speakers and do not represent the official policy or position of the Australian National University &lt;a target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow" href="https://systems.anu.edu.au/"&gt;College of Systems and Society&lt;/a&gt; or the University as a whole.&lt;/p&gt;</description>

Nuclear Matters

Liz Williams

How does plutonium behave in marine environments? - with Madison Williams-Hoffman

SEP 30, 202550 MIN
Nuclear Matters

How does plutonium behave in marine environments? - with Madison Williams-Hoffman

SEP 30, 202550 MIN

Description

<p>This episode of Nuclear Matters takes us to Montebello Island, a former UK nuclear weapons test site off the coast of Western Australia. Our guest is <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://physics.anu.edu.au/contact/people/profile.php?ID=3574">Madison Williams-Hoffman</a> – or Maddy, for short. Maddy is a postdoctoral fellow at the <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://radinnovate.au">Radinnovate ARC Training Centre for Radiation Innovation</a> at ANU. She uses chemistry to explore how plutonium from the weapons tests carried out in that region have moved through the marine environment.</p><p>She has kindly joined us to talk us through what she’s found, and help us understand why it matters for our explorations of future uses of nuclear technologies.</p><p><strong>Credits</strong></p><p>Guest: Madison Williams-Hoffman</p><p>Host: Liz Williams</p><p>Audio producer: Martin Franklin (<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://eastcoaststudio.com.au">East Coast Studio</a>)</p><p><strong>Contacts</strong></p><p>If you are interested in projects and wish to contact Maddy about collaborating or joining the group as a student, you can reach her via the email on <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://physics.anu.edu.au/contact/people/profile.php?ID=3574">this webpage</a>.</p><p><strong>Further reading</strong></p><ul><li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/jun/23/plutonium-levels-nuclear-test-site-wa-montebello-islands-study">The Guardian article on Maddy's work</a></li><li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0025326X25007556">The paper mentioned in the article</a> (with Maddy as lead author)</li></ul><p><strong>Acknowledgements</strong></p><p>Thanks to Nanda Dasgupta for introducing us to Maddy.</p><p><strong>Errata</strong></p><p>Maddy flagged that the Plutonium ratio they usually look at is 240Pu/239Pu, rather than 239Pu/240Pu.</p><p><strong>The usual end matter</strong></p><p>Nuclear Matters is a production of the Australian National University College of Systems and Society. We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the lands on which this podcast is being recorded on or listened to, and pay our respects to their Elders – and all First Nations people.</p><p>If you want to send us some feedback on an episode, email us at <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="mailto:[email protected]">[email protected]</a>.</p><p>Keep in mind that this podcast is intended for information and education only. The views and opinions expressed in each episode are those of the individual speakers and do not represent the official policy or position of the Australian National University <a target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow" href="https://systems.anu.edu.au/">College of Systems and Society</a> or the University as a whole.</p>