A CYLINDER containing dangerous radioactive material caesium-137 that has been missing in Prachinburi since March 10 appears to have been sold as scrap to a smelter, Naewna newspaper said this morning (Mar. 20).
Provincial Governor Ronanrong Nakhonchinda together with staff from the Office of Atoms for Peace and related agencies inspected two metal smelters at Kabinburi Industrial Zone as it was believed that the cylinder missing from National Power Plant 5A Company could have been sold to one of them as junk.
Traces of caesium-137 was found in the sludge emitted by a blast furnace and among the scraps at one of the smelters. The Office of Atoms for Peace officials said they had thoroughly checked the samples and what was found at this smelter was caesium-137.
Initially the Prachinburi governor closed and cordoned off the smelter with the workers told to leave the compound for their safety.
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This image provided by the Prachinburi Provincial Public Relations Office, shows the missing radioactive cylinder, as part of a steel tube. Photo: The Prachinburi Provincial Public Relations Office/AP and published by CNN
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