nuclear-news

Finds of Radioactive Steel on the Rise in Germany, probably from India

SPIEGEL ONLINE

By Christian Schwägerl 16 Feb 09

German authorities in recent months have found a disturbingly large amount of radioactive steel in factories across the country. Much of the contaminated metal is thought to have originated in India………………….radiometers indicated unusually high levels of radiation. They measured a level of 71 microsieverts per hour, a level that in 24 hours would exceed the amount permitted for an entire year………………………..For months, similar cases have been found across Germany, all involving bits of metal contaminated with radioactive cobalt. And most of them come from the same source: three steelworks in India, in particular a company called Vipras Casting, based in Mumbai. Germany’s environmental authorities are alarmed……………………………..Since last August, a total of 150 tons of contaminated metal has been seized. Some of it has been sent back to India. The rest is being stored by the companies that discovered the radioactivity, pending a decision on how to safely dispose of the material……………………..

Authorities noted that there is already a European Union directive designed to prevent the import of radioactive materials. Enforcement, however, apparently remains problematic………………..

http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,607840,00.html

February 17, 2009 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | environment, Germany, India