This Article is From May 29, 2015

Atomic Experts Investigating Radioactive Leak at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport

Atomic Experts Investigating Radioactive Leak at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport

A special 10-member team of the NDRF team was rushed to contain the leak.

New Delhi: A radioactive material leak was detected on Friday at New Delhi's international airport on a shipment of nuclear medicine from Turkey, before being plugged by emergency teams, officials said.

Here are the 10 latest developments:

  1. Home Minister Rajnath Singh said the leak, detected in a medical consignment, had been contained. The consignment was meant for a private hospital.

  2. "This area is far away from any of the passenger terminals and there is absolutely no risk of exposure to any passengers," an airport spokesman said in a statement.

  3. A preliminary assessment of "the material has been termed as that of low radio activity - Sodium Iodide Liquid Class 7 meant for medicinal use," the statement said.

  4. It said teams from "Atomic Minerals Directorate for Exploration and Research (AMD), Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) are at the site and making arrangements for the removal of the material."

  5. "The radioactive leak was very very small. There is nothing to panic about and there is no effect on the passenger area," NDRF Chief O P Singh said.

  6. The incident happened near the cargo area of Turkish Airlines, where four cartons containing so-called nuclear medicine material were found to be damaged, an NDRF official said.

  7. Two workers who handled the consignment were taken to a Delhi hospital for a check-up. After being checked for radiation levels, they are back at work.

  8. Turkish Airlines said in statement, "The cargo package containing medical material and carried by Turkish Airlines' TK716  Istanbul - Delhi flight has been examined by the official authorities in Delhi on suspicion of radioactive leak due to the wetness seen on the mentioned package."

  9. "Turkish Airlines's relevant cargo and technical teams have effectuated the necessary controls and radiological surveys on-board the aircraft landed back to Istanbul but no evidence has been detected," it said.

  10. Sodium Iodide is used in nuclear medicine for the treatment of hyperthyroidism and thyroid cancers. It emits radiation and must be handled with care to minimise inadvertent exposure to health workers and patients, an official at the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) told Reuters.



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