A science enthusiast faces ten years in prison for importing nuclear material even though it turned out to be harmless.
Emmanuel Steven Lidden, 24, was arrested in August 2023 when officers in full hazmat suits stormed his parents’ Arncliffe unit in Sydney’s south, blocking the street and evacuating neighbors.
They seized plutonium and depleted uranium in decorative vials and polymer cubes that Lidden kept next to his bed after purchasing from an American science collectibles website to complete a realistic periodic table.
Scientists found the samples were harmless, but Lidden pleaded guilty to importing nuclear material into Australia and possessing nuclear material without authorization, which could land him in prison for more than a decade.
Lidden’s lawyer John Sutton said anti-terror laws were clearly not aimed at people like Lidden.
“These laws were created to protect society from terrorists and people who want to cause weapons of mass destruction, not from naive young science fans,” he told the newspaper. Daily Telegraph.
The laws were established in 1987 and Lidden is the only person to have been prosecuted under them.
Asked about the appropriateness of prosecuting Lidden, a spokeswoman for the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions said it “conducts all prosecutions in accordance with Commonwealth prosecution policy.”
Officers in hazmat suits arrested Emmanuel Steven Lidden for importing and possessing nuclear material without authorization (stock photo)
Lidden, who works in a fast-food restaurant, placed ten orders for the nuclear material via the American website Luciteria Science from May 2022.
The website states: ‘Collecting elements is a fun way to learn about chemistry’.
Lidden has not hidden the orders or his contact details.
The authorities became aware of the imports after Lidden’s eleventh order in June 2023.
The Australian Border Force blocked the order, which contained a sample of mercury and thorium, because it posed a potential radiation threat.
However, United Postal Service still accidentally delivered the shipment to Lidden, according to court documents.
After a UPS employee contacted Lidden and asked to return the samples, he immediately agreed
“(Lidden) responded that he would be happy to return it if UPS would come pick it up,” the court documents said.
Lidden had ordered plutonium and depleted uranium from a US website to create a periodic table of actual elements (stock image shown)
“He also asked… how it was delivered if it was banned in Australia.
“UPS explained that they made an error in releasing it,” the documents said.
Lidden showed the invoices and packing slips of his ten previous purchases to the investigators.
After the raid, Lidden and his family were rushed to hospital and cleared of radiation poisoning.
Fire and Rescue NSW conducted a ‘safety review’ before determining radiation emissions were ‘at levels safe for human habitation’.
While levels of “uranium and mercury” were detected in Lidden’s bedroom, investigators found that Lidden’s table of elements was “safe for seizure.”
The cubes were scanned for radioactive material using ‘gamma ray spectroscopy’.
The Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organization confirmed positive results for plutonium, depleted uranium and other substances.
Luciteria Science has stopped selling plutonium.
Lidenden will be sentenced on March 21.