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.
NEW DELHI: A full-fledged probe into the incident of radioactive material being found in the scrap at Mayapuri in west Delhi earlier this month is under way. The scrap apparently came from abroad, Minister of State for Atomic Energy Prithiviraj Chavan told the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday.
The government on Tuesday admitted its helplessness in providing adequate compensation to victims of radiation exposure in Mayapuri market in the absence of a specific law backing compensation to victims of radioactive accidents.
Minister of State for Science and Technology Prithviraj Chavan told the Rajya Sabha that such a law needs to be enacted and welcomed suggestions in this regard.
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.
KOCHI: The Central Government has directed all the major ports in the country to install advanced radioactive material detectors to prevent shipment and smuggling of hazardous materials into the country.
A team of scientists April 19: A team of scientists from Atomic Energy Regulatory Board will carry out deradiation in Mayapuri scrap market to make it safe for the residents.
To check the knowledge of doctors, a study at the premier medical institute AIIMS revealed that doctors who regularly subject patients to X-rays and CT scans are themselves ignorant of the harmful effects of radiation exposure.
NEW DELHI: Several illegal dumping sites across the Capital have been found to have hazardous waste hexavalent chromium, long-term exposure to which is known to cause lung, kidney, stomach and skin problems, according to the last survey conducted by the Delhi Pollution Control Committee.
