The discovery of radioactive Cobalt 60 sources stored as scrap in New Delhi's Mayapuri locality by the Department of Atomic Energy and the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board is a clear pointer to the need for a stronger mechanism to monitor such dangerous waste.
Liability provisions should be revised periodically to ensure they are adequate and aligned with international practice
Anshu Bharadwaj / April 22, 2010, 0:09 IST
Days after several persons were hospitalised after exposure to radioactive waste at a West Delhi scrap market, it emerges that the only data available with the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) is almost three years old.
And even that is alarming: 5,300 tonnes of hazardous waste was generated in the Capital every year, according to the survey last conducted in 2007.
Minister of state for science & technology Prithviraj Chavan was clearly on the backfoot when he admitted in the Rajya Sabha that the Cobalt 60 detected in a west Delhi scrap market had been brought in undetected from abroad.
New Delhi: The radioactive waste, identified as cobalt-60, found in the Mayapuri scrap market last week could have come from more than one source, claims the report submitted by the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board to Delhi Police.
Was Carrying Cobalt-60 Pin Given To Him By First Victim
New Delhi: Eight days after six people landed in hospital with severe health complications following exposure to radioactive radiation in Mayapuri junk market, another scrap dealer has been admitted at Max Hospital in Pitampura with similar symptoms.
With another victim from Mayapuri being hospitalised with Cobalt-60 exposure, the government has asked the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) to carry out a detailed mapping of all scrap markets in Delhi.
NEW DELHI: The waste imported to the Capital will have to go through a tighter sieve now with the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) having decided to seek the Customs Department's intervention to ensure that radioactive waste does not find its way into the public domain again endangering the lives of people.
A team of experts scanned over 800 shops in Mayapuri scrap market in West Delhi where 10 sources of Cobalt-60 have been recovered in the recent past, leaving seven exposed to radiation.
