Lucas Heights, New South Wales

It is located 31 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the Sutherland Shire. Lucas Heights is located on the Woronora River, which flows north into the Georges River.

Unusually for a suburb, Lucas Heights does not contain a residential area. The residential area previously part of Lucas Heights was renamed Barden Ridge in 1996 to increase the real estate value of the area, as it would no longer be instantly associated with the High Flux Australian Reactor (HIFAR).

Lucas Heights was named after John Lucas Senior, a flour miller who in 1823 was granted {{convert|150|acre|km2|1}} on the 'head of unnamed stream into Georges River'. He built a water-driven mill for grinding corn from the Illawarra farms. Small ships sailed up the coast into Botany Bay, Georges River and the Woronora River.The Book of Sydney Suburbs, Compiled by Frances Pollen, Angus & Robertson, 1990 {{ISBN|0-207-14495-8}}

Lucas Heights has become notable as the site of the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation’s (ANSTO) main research establishment, originally built by the Australian Atomic Energy Commission and home to the historic HIFAR research reactor.

HIFAR was shut down in January 2007 and superseded by the OPAL research reactor. OPAL consists of leading neutron radiation facilities and attracts international scientists as its staff members and many hundreds of third-party users. In 2005, Australian police suggested the HIFAR reactor was a possible target for a foiled terrorist bomb attack.{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/4434270.stm|title=Nuclear link' to terror suspects|work=BBC News|date=14 November 2005 }}

Spent fuel from the OPAL research reactor is transported to Port Kembla, then exported to France for reprocessing.{{Cite web|date=2018-07-29|title=Radioactive nuclear 'boomerang waste' moved out of Australia|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-07-29/radioactive-nuclear-rods-bound-for-france/10049040|access-date=2020-12-15|publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation|language=en-AU}}

The non-governmental Australian Institute of Nuclear Science and Engineering (AINSE) also has its headquarters at Lucas Heights.{{Cite web |title=Contact Us |url=https://www.ainse.edu.au/contact-us/ |access-date=2024-03-18 |website=AINSE}}

Lucas Heights also hosts a (non-nuclear) waste management facility, which was for many years a major disposal site for sanitary carters.

Due to its elevation, Lucas Heights is one of the few places in Sydney that has a borderline Oceanic (Cfb) and a Humid subtropical climate (Cfa).

{{Weather box

|location = Lucas Heights

|metric first = Yes

|single line = Yes

|precipitation colour = green

|Jan record high C = 41.2

|Feb record high C = 42.0

|Mar record high C = 39.8

|Apr record high C = 32.4

|May record high C = 26.9

|Jun record high C = 23.5

|Jul record high C = 24.0

|Aug record high C = 28.0

|Sep record high C = 34.4

|Oct record high C = 34.0

|Nov record high C = 41.5

|Dec record high C = 40.0

|year record high C = 42.0

|Jan high C = 25.9

|Feb high C = 26.0

|Mar high C = 24.7

|Apr high C = 22.3

|May high C = 18.9

|Jun high C = 16.2

|Jul high C = 15.8

|Aug high C = 17.2

|Sep high C = 19.5

|Oct high C = 21.6

|Nov high C = 23.4

|Dec high C = 25.7

|year high C = 21.4

|Jan low C = 17.4

|Feb low C = 17.6

|Mar low C = 16.1

|Apr low C = 13.3

|May low C = 10.1

|Jun low C = 8.2

|Jul low C = 6.6

|Aug low C = 7.4

|Sep low C = 9.4

|Oct low C = 11.9

|Nov low C = 13.7

|Dec low C = 15.9

|year low C = 12.3

|Jan record low C = 10.9

|Feb record low C = 11.1

|Mar record low C = 8.4

|Apr record low C = 5.6

|May record low C = 4.3

|Jun record low C = -0.5

|Jul record low C = -0.6

|Aug record low C = 1.6

|Sep record low C = 3.1

|Oct record low C = 3.5

|Nov record low C = 6.8

|Dec record low C = 8.8

|year record low C = -0.6

|Jan precipitation mm = 92.5

|Feb precipitation mm = 104.1

|Mar precipitation mm = 119.0

|Apr precipitation mm = 92.0

|May precipitation mm = 79.9

|Jun precipitation mm = 101.0

|Jul precipitation mm = 59.6

|Aug precipitation mm = 67.6

|Sep precipitation mm = 51.8

|Oct precipitation mm = 70.2

|Nov precipitation mm = 92.9

|Dec precipitation mm = 77.9

|year precipitation mm = 1007.6

|Jan precipitation days = 10.9

|Feb precipitation days = 11.1

|Mar precipitation days = 11.8

|Apr precipitation days = 9.6

|May precipitation days = 9.4

|Jun precipitation days = 9.8

|Jul precipitation days = 7.7

|Aug precipitation days = 7.6

|Sep precipitation days = 7.9

|Oct precipitation days = 9.8

|Nov precipitation days = 10.9

|Dec precipitation days = 10.0

|year precipitation days = 116.5

|unit precipitation days = 0.2 mm

|humidity colour=green

|Jan humidity = 62

|Feb humidity = 63

|Mar humidity = 63

|Apr humidity = 58

|May humidity = 58

|Jun humidity = 61

|Jul humidity = 52

|Aug humidity = 51

|Sep humidity = 52

|Oct humidity = 57

|Nov humidity = 57

|Dec humidity = 57

|year humidity = 57

|source 1 = {{cite web

| url = http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/averages/tables/cw_066078_All.shtml

| publisher = Bureau of Meteorology |title = Climate statistics for LUCAS HEIGHTS (ANSTO) |accessdate = 8 February 2014}}

|date=February 2014

}}

{{Reflist}}

{{Coord|-34.049|150.975|format=dms|type:city_region:AU-NSW|display=title}}

{{Sydney Sutherland suburbs}}

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Category:Suburbs of Sydney

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