BANGKOK (The Nation/Asia News Network): Science Ministry officials are combing Prachinburi for signs of radioactivity after a stolen cylinder of caesium-137 was melted in the furnace of a recycling plant in the province’s Kabin Buri district.
Anek Laothamatas, Minister of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation, said medical colleges were also checking local residents for signs of health impacts from radiation.
The ministry has set up an emergency centre in the province and would employ the highest safety protocol to deal with the situation, he added.
Officials will begin by screening the area around the recycling plant for radiation leaks before extending their search to cover the whole province.
Prachinburi has a population of around half a million and is home to national parks including Khao Yai, which makes it popular with local and international tourists. It lies 160 kilometres east of Bangkok.
Caesium-137 has a half-life of around 30 years, which means it can contaminate the environment and pose a public health risk for decades.
The radiation scare in Prachinburi comes after a similar incident 23 years ago in Samut Prakan, where three workers died from radiation poisoning after cutting open a container of cobalt-60.
The emergency centre in Prachinburi will collaborate with the Office of Atoms for Peace (OAP) to check for radioactive contamination in the soil, water, and air. It will give regular public updates on its findings, Anek said.
“We need to contain the situation promptly and find ways to prevent it from happening again,” the minister added.
The radioactive cylinder was reported missing from a power plant in neighbouring Sri Maha Phot district on March 10, though is thought to have disappeared two weeks before that date.
On Monday, Prachinburi Governor Narong Nakhonjinda told reporters that traces of caesium-137 had been detected in red dust from the furnace.
He said OAP specialists had checked metal that was melted in the furnace and detected no radioactivity, as the isotope was trapped inside the melting pot when it vaporized.
Kitkavin Aram-aroon, chief of radiation emergency operations at the OAP, said the Caesium-137 isotope has not leaked into the environment and would not affect people in Sri Maha Pho or elsewhere in Prachinburi.
“Please don’t panic. The situation is under control,” he said.
