BANGKOK (The Nation/Asia News Network): Locals living around the recycling plant in Prachinburi where a stolen cylinder of caesium-137 is believed to have been melted down have raised white flags in a plea for government action.
Authorities have declined to name the facility where radiation was detected and insist there has been no contamination of the surrounding environment.
However, the location of the plant became obvious when officials from the Office of Atoms for Peace (OAP) cordoned off the KPP Steel Co Ltd recycling facility in Moo 6, Tambon Haad Nang Kaew in Kabin Buri.
They began checking for radiation leaks around the plant on Tuesday (March 21).
Radiation from caesium-137 can cause burns to the skin and radiation sickness. It also increases the risk of leukaemia and other forms of cancer.
Residents living within a 5-km radius of the plant are now erecting white flags in front of their houses to demand urgent help from the government.
They also formed a Facebook page with over 200 members, which posted a map of the 5km zone around the plant.
The page administrator, Rittidej Boonyaburanakit, said the suspected radioactive contamination had occurred close to where he and his family live, so he formed the group to demand action from the government.
Rittidej said the group of Kabin Buri residents have issued three demands:
- Free blood checks on local residents every six months for five years.
- Free treatment and compensation if the blood checks show increased white blood cell count.
- Thorough contamination checks by OAP officials on all areas within 5km of the plant.
Rittidej insisted the white flags carried no political message.
On Monday, the OAP, Prachinburi provincial administration, police and several agencies held a press conference where they insisted there were no grounds for the public to panic.
They said the cylinder of caesium had been melted down but there was no radiation leak from the plant.
The OAP claimed contaminated dust from the melting process was trapped by the furnace’s filtering system.
Experts have expressed doubt over that claim, saying that 10% of the radioactive dust may have escaped through the furnace chimney.
Fear of radioactive contamination reportedly prompted buyers to cancel orders of fruit from Prachinburi. The Agriculture Ministry has declared that fruits and vegetables from the province are safe to consume.
The caesium-137 cylinder is thought to have gone missing from National Power Plant 5A in Si Maha Phot on Feb 23. However, the power plant only reported its disappearance to the OAP on March 10, triggering a frantic search for the cylinder the next day.
After detecting radioactive traces that suggested the cylinder had been melted down, OAP officials seized 24 tonnes of red dust produced by the furnace.
It also ordered that 12.4 tonnes of the dust shipped to Rayong be returned to the Kabin Buri plant.
The dust will be disposed of by the OAP.
Prachinburi public health chief Surin Suebsueng said he would visit the locals who raised white flags on Thursday to explain the situation and allay their fears of contamination.
Surin said his office will also monitor the health of 70 workers at the plant in question for five years. Their blood had been tested and would be tested again on April 5, Surin said.
The Prachinburi public health office said officials had checked six areas in Tambon Haad Nang Kaew and Tambon Lat Takhian on Wednesday and found no radioactive contamination.
The detected radiation of 0.07-0.10 micro-sieverts per hour, which was in the range of harmless natural background radiation, the office said.
