Radiation risksLeaders of Chinese city delay alerting residents to deadly radiation risk
Authorities in the East China city of Nanjing delayed,for thirty-six hours, notifying residents about the loss of deadly isotope iridium-192 pellets at a local industrial plant. The pellets disappeared on Wednesday, and plant officials informed government authorities on Thursday – but did not inform city residents until Saturday. The extremely toxic pellets, the size of beans, were found the following Saturday in an open field one kilometer from the plant. The plant management detained four employees at the plant on Sunday for violating radioactive work regulations and storage rules, and they are likely to face criminal charges.The plant is using the isotope to find flaws in metal components.
Authorities in the East China city of Nanjing delayed,for thirty-six hours, notifying residents about the loss of deadly isotope iridium-192 pellets at a local industrial plant. The authorities detained four employees with the Tianjin Hongdi Engineering Development Company on Sunday for violating radioactive work regulations and storage rules, after the company reported the loss of the radioactive pellets late Thursday night.
China’s Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP) raised concerns to why city officials waited so long before informing the public.
“Late release of information only makes people more doubtful about the government’s ability to handle a crisis,” said Zhu Lijia, a professor at the Chinese Academy of Governance. “Issues of public safety especially those involving radioactivity which highly concern the public should be publicized in good time with full transparency about the government’s counter-measures.”
The iridium-192 source went missing on Wednesday, 7 May 2014, and was found the following Saturday in a yard belonging to Sinopec, one kilometer from its original location. The toxin was then wrapped in a plastic bag and placed in a lead-lined container, according to China Central Television.
Global Times reports that the Chinese authorities fear that someone might have made contact with the deadly toxin. According to the MEP, workers at Sinopec, one of the major state-owned petroleum energy and chemical companies in China, received a physical examination last Friday, which excluded the possibility of an accidental radiation injury and radiation substance diffusion. “It was an enclosed plant with only one gate and active guard and surveillance which could prevent the free flow of people,” the MEP announced on its microblog on Sunday.
The Tianjin Hongdi Engineering Development Company was using the isotope to find flaws in metal components.
