Police say radioactive device still missing, likely within Selangor

SHAH ALAM: The 23kg Radioactive Dispersal Device (RDD) that went missing from the back of a pick-up truck earlier this month may still be in Selangor, says Comm Datuk Mazlan Mansor.

The state police chief said there was no indication so far that the RDD had been taken out of the Selangor.

"We are working around-the-clock to locate the missing device.

"We are also being assisted by the Atomic Energy Licensing Board (AELB) in our search," said Comm Mazlan at a press conference at the Selangor police headquarters on Thursday (Aug 23).

He was speaking to reporters while attending the state police's Hari Raya Haji celebration where 21 cows and 21 goats were sacrificed and donated to the poor.

According to an English daily, the missing device is an industrial radiography device which contains the radioactive isotope Iridium-192.

Iridium-192 emits beta and gamma radiation with an estimated half-life of 73 days.

It is learnt that the device, which can cause radiation sickness, has a market value of about RM75,000.

Police are searching for the missing RDD, fearing that it could be used to make a dirty bomb if it falls into the wrong hands.

Authorities are also worried that the RDD may cause massive radiation exposure if it is dismantled for scrap metal.

The device belongs to a private company that offers testing, calibration and inspection services to heavy industries, including oil, gas and energy companies.

The RDD was reportedly used by two of the company's technicians for a job in Seremban.

After completing their task, they loaded the 23kg device onto the back of their pick-up truck and headed for their office at Shah Alam at 2am.

The device was missing when they arrived an hour later.

The duo, who claimed they did not stop on their journey back, said the device could have fallen off the truck.