IAEA Concerned Over Radiation Leakage In Delhi

[Abu Zolfiqar]

New Delhi, India (AHN) - The United Nation's atomic watchdog, International Atomic Energy Agency, is seeking information from India about reports of a radioactive waste scandal in New Delhi that caused one person to die of radiation poisoning in early April.


The Indian regulator, Atomic Energy Regulatory Board, is looking into a claim that Delhi University buried radioactive material on its campus about two decades ago that led to the death.

The incident came to light at a scrap shop in the Mayapuri area of New Delhi, where workers complained of discomfort after dealing with a heap of scrap. Police found the source of the scrap to be a dumping site inside the DU campus. After the university was blamed for the radiation leakage, it was found that DU’s chemistry department had buried on its campus, some 20 years ago, an irradiation machine containing cobalt-60. This machine ended up in the scrap market, killing a middle-aged worker and affecting seven others.

After becoming aware of the situation, the IAEA asked India’s Department of Atomic Energy about information on a possible serious radiation emergency in the New Delhi market and also offered to help.

IAEA Concerned Over Radiation Leakage In Delhi | AHN

 

[Abu Zolfiqar]

While The New York Times was busy raising alarmist warnings about a new nuclear arms race in South Asia and the danger of Pakistani nuclear weapons falling into the arms of terrorists, it so far seems to have missed a story from the region about a far more immediate nuclear scare that broke over the weekend.

In New Delhi, a panicked neighborhood was cordoned off by authorities and swept with Geiger counters and portable spectrometers after five people became ill following contact with a “mysterious shiny metal object” in a local scrap dealer’s shop. The object turned out to be a bar of radioactive Cobalt-60, which is used in industrial radiography and in medical devices used in cancer treatment. The workers, one of whom is fighting for his life after suffering serious radiation burns (and the four others who probably have a significantly increased risk of cancer now), had bought the scrap material from another dealer in Faridabad, one’s Delhi’s sprawling exurbs. The original source of the Cobalt-60 has not yet been determined, but there is quite a bit of speculation, with some guessing that it likely came from one of India’s hospitals and others saying it may have been imported improperly from abroad as scrap or perhaps properly imported and then improperly dumped on the scrap metal market by someone looking to make a buck.

Either way, the case raises a host of troubling questions. For one thing, it highlights a common problem in India: the country has good laws on its books, including laws about how hazardous waste should be disposed of, and yet these laws are rarely enforced. And without enforcement, good laws are as good as useless.

Hazardous waste will continue to sicken and kill innocent people. This is true in general for all kinds of electronic waste, or “e-waste” — like discarded computers and mobile phones — many of which contain all kinds of hazardous materials.

As I have written about before in other venues, the Third World has become a dumping ground for hazardous waste from the First World. Often this waste is bought by unscrupulous dealers who claim they will recycle the waste or dispose of it properly, but who instead simply dump it places where it sickens people and pollutes the environment. (Or sometimes, the waste is, in fact, recycled but in a manner that is extremely hazardous the health of the poor people employed in the recycling operation.)

The Delhi case raises some other very troubling issues: how good is the city’s surveillance for radiation leaks? The Cobalt-60 at the scrap dealer’s shop was only discovered after several workers had reported to area hospitals complaining of mysterious symptoms, including the fact that their hair and nails were falling out. The owner of the shop — who is in most serious condition now — had to visit several different hospitals before he received an accurate diagnosis. It was only he showed up at a large private hospital with his skin turning black from radiation burns that a doctor made the right call and also alerted the country’s radioactive incident response teams. That was apparently about two weeks after this radioactive material was brought to the scrap dealer’s shop. That really gives me peace of mind.

Worse, after the material was discovered, the first responders did not have the right kind of equipment — like lead-lined containers — to properly shield the Cobalt-60 so it would not continue to expose people in the neighborhood to dangerous radiation. That equipment only arrived the next day! Instead, for the first 24 hours, they just tried to bury the Cobalt-60 deeper in a pile of other metal to minimize the radiation. Again, in the country’s capital, that does not seem very reassuring.

Also, the more of this kind of industrial radioactive material floating around scrap dealerships in the developing world, the more chance there is that a terrorist will get his hands on some to construct a dirty bomb. While the consequences of a terrorist getting a hold of a real nuclear weapon are potentially cataclysmic, stealing a nuclear bomb is, luckily, still not that easy. Building a dirty bomb, however, is by comparison a piece of cake.

So while the world is discussing nuclear security in Washington, perhaps it should also spend a bit of time thinking about the safe disposal of radioactive waste.

Radioactive waste contaminates New Delhi shop | India

 

[Windjammer]

For Pakistan, it was a scandal, but in India it's becoming an industry.

 

[mrwarrior006]

^^^weapon is different from radio active waste

still this shouldn have happened

 

[Abu Zolfiqar]

For Pakistan, it was a scandal, but in India it's becoming an industry.

yeah at whose expense?


this is worth mentioning:

NEW DELHI: Just as the scrap market at Mayapuri was returning to normalcy after radioactive cobalt-60 exposed six people to radiation there, the monitoring agencies claimed on Tuesday they had found another source of radiation -- the ninth in the area -- still active. This startling claim came after a seventh person, Bablu alias Babulal, was admitted to AIIMS with symptoms of radiation exposure.

A four-member team from the Bhaba Atomic Research Centre (BARC), another 17-member squad of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and the National Disaster Response Force and an expert from the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) were headed for Mayapuri on Tuesday night.

``We have been alerted about one more source in the Mayapuri area when our team went to collect more samples after another person was admitted to hospital on Monday night, said Dr B Bhattacharya, member, NDMA. ``It is smaller than the earlier one as the radiation emitted by it is not strong.''

``The BARC and the AERB teams are expected to reach the capital by 11pm and they are expected to head directly to Mayapuri. By early morning, they will visit the site and send us a detailed report. We were informed around 12 noon,'' said Bhattacharya.

The latest developments have led to panic among the residents. ``We hope this time they will find all the sources. We cannot live with this fear,'' said Ashok Kumar, a scrap dealer. On April 8, an alert was sounded in Mayapuri after a scrap dealer, his four employees and another person were reported to be showing symptoms of radiation exposure.

Deepak Jain, the scrap dealer who had received the object which was the source of radiation, had been first taken to AIIMS and then on April 4 to Apollo Hospital which sounded an alarm. He is in a critical state now with his bone marrow significantly suppressed. The others are in AIIMS.

The experts had identified the radioactive material as cobalt-60, a radioactive isotope of cobalt. The police said on Tuesday they were investigating whether it had been imported from outside the country. They had gone to the hospital on Tuesday to record the statement of the four workers but the doctors looking after them asked them to return a few days later since they were not yet fit to give a statement.

The police has formed 17 teams to investigate the case. ``We are yet to get the final report from the specialists. At present, we are studying the procedure adopted by scrap dealers to procure the scrap through online bids from outside the country to try and get some leads. However, we will wait for the reports before deciding on our next step,'' said DCP (west) Sharad Aggarwal.

According to experts, the nature of the radioactive substance that was recovered from Mayapuri suggests that neither was it produced in India, nor did it come from a hospital. ``Cobalt-60 is usually found inside lead compartments. In this case, the substance was found on wires suggesting this was to be used for industrial purposes,'' said a senior scientist from BARC.

West district police said the intial investigations by BARC had revealed that the product did not have a proper seal. They said the state health department has asked the Defence Research and Development Organisation's Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Applied Sciences to send a team to the affected area to check the health of the local residents affected by the radiation. ``A team has been constituted and the entire area will be scanned in the next few days,'' said an officer.

Another source of radiation in Mayapuri - Delhi - City - The Times of India

 

[Windjammer]

 

[Abu Zolfiqar]

this is an off-topic question, but can any indian or any informed persons specify how many indian nuclear installations (civilian/military) are located in northeast (i.e. areas susceptible to terrorism and insurgency)

 

[Abu Zolfiqar]

^^^weapon is different from radio active waste

still this shouldn have happened

I must register my strong protest.

no Pakistani nuclear weapons have ever left Pakistan. A few designs and centrifugal components made, or almost made their way to certain countries via front companies based in Malaysia and Dubai.

Hardly consitutes weaponry

 

[Windjammer]

 

[illuminatidinesh]

I must register my strong protest.

no Pakistani nuclear weapons have ever left Pakistan. A few designs and centrifugal components made, or almost made their way to certain countries via front companies based in Malaysia and Dubai.

Hardly consitutes weaponry

Hmmm those are the important tech man.... If U know these methods then u can go make a nuke from a yellow cake. Of course not to the maniac groups but in the hands of capable countries it is dangerous.

 

[saurabh]

I have been to one nuclear plant (BARC) and I know that such plants are quite safe, with rules followed inside and outside the plant. About this Co-60, it nowhere translate to insecurity of Indian nuclear installations/bombs. Co-60 is used by people not related to DAE/DRDO etc. May be used in hospitals/universities etc.

The culprits in this case should be severely punished, but it is sure they are not terrorists. So no need to worry about Indian nuclear plants.

 

[Contrarian]

This leakage is not from a nuclear plant. Delhi University had purchased nuclear lab equipment to conduct tests-radioactivity, etc. They sold off all the equipments as scrap-with Co-60 still inside it.

The scrap dealers scraped off the lead covering the Co-60 and its leading to a lot of mess.
DU's fault...

 

[AgNoStiC MuSliM]

Hmmm those are the important tech man.... If U know these methods then u can go make a nuke from a yellow cake. Of course not to the maniac groups but in the hands of capable countries it is dangerous.

On the other hand, if some Western accounts regarding Pakistan's nuclear program are to be believed, the technology for setting up the entire nuclear chain was transferred to Pakistan from entities in the West. Similar nuclear technology transfers occurred from the West to Israel, enabling it to develop its nuclear weapons program, that dwarfs those of India and Pakistan.

India obtained crucial nuclear technology from the West under the 'Atoms for peace' program initiated by the US to spread the use of peaceful nuclear technology.

So I would argue that the worst proliferation has in fact been done by entities in the West, and a few outdated components and designs sold by AQ Khan rank pretty low compared to what the West 'accomplished'.

 

[Abu Zolfiqar]

as usual, indians bring up Pakistan into this discussion.


May i recommend you read the book ''Deception"

it is required reading for those who want to learn about the AQ Khan network, and the nuclear program. I will confess, it is slightly anti-Pakistani in nature; but a good read nonetheless. Written like a thriller.


AM rightly mentioned the outdatedness of some of the equipments; you can go learn about the Iranians -- initially we were giving them designs for an old variant of the P-1 centrifuge cascade

i think they were drawn on tissues and a few pieces of A4 sized paper

 

[psychedelic_renegade]

I fail to understand how cobalt 60 sold off from DU can be a security threat to nuclear instalments in India! Surely you're not saying some terrorist gonna attack University labs where it's used for tracer or Hospitals where it's used as sterilizer, thus making Indian nuclear instalments unsafe. :s