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Cesium 137 detected in container from Philippines



Cesium 137 detected in container from Philippines

WAKAYAMA, Japan, May 1 (Kyodo) - 

Nuclear experts have identified cesium 137 as being inside a sealed 
container imported last week from the Philippines that was found to 
be emitting radiation, the Science and Technology Agency said Monday. 

The experts plan to reexamine the container, being kept at a Sumitomo 
Metal Industries Ltd. steelworks in Wakayama, western Japan, for 
other radioactive substances because neutrons, which are not emitted 
by cesium 137, have been detected. 

Leaving the container sealed, four experts from the Japan Atomic 
Energy Research Institute in Tokyo measured gamma rays and detected 
cesium 137 in one section of the 6-meter-long, 2.6-meter-tall 
container, they said. 

Cesium 137, a radioactive cesium isotope with a mass number of 137 
and a half-life of 33 years, is used for gamma irradiation of certain 
foods and for radiation therapy. 

Potassium 40 and radon were also detected, but at levels similar to 
those occurring in nature, they said. No radioactive substance was 
found on the surface of the container. 

Sumitomo Metal and the central, prefectural and municipal governments 
have been at odds over what to do with the container, with the 
steelmaker and the local governments wanted the agency to cart it 
away before it is opened. 

The container, carrying 19 tons of stainless steel waste from cutlery 
factories in the Philippines, was unloaded at Osaka South Port on 
Thursday and transported to Wakayama. 

The waste was to be melted and processed at the Wakayama plant, 
Sumitomo Metal officials said. 

When the container was trucked Friday to the steelworks in Wakayama, 
south of Osaka, a radiation detector at the gate alerted workers to 
the presence of radioactive material inside. 

When inspectors from the agency measured the radiation Friday night, 
they detected gamma rays of up to 75 microsieverts per hour as well 
as neutron rays of up to 6 microsieverts per hour emanating from the 
container's surface, the agency said. One microsievert is one-
millionth of a sievert. 

The detected levels of radiation are deemed very low and are unlikely 
to cause health damage, according to the agency. 

Officials at Mitsui Bussan Raw Materials Development Corp., which 
imported the container, said the company had recently imported two 
separate containers of steel waste from Manila to the Wakayama plant, 
but no radiation was detected from those containers. 

The company, which sells scrap metal, is a wholly owned subsidiary of 
Mitsui & Co. 

Representatives from Sumitomo Metal, Mitsui Bussan Raw Materials, the 
prefecture, the city and the agency will discuss how to dispose of 
the container as soon as the experts reach a conclusion on exactly 
what is inside it, the agency officials said. 

Sumitomo Metal and the Wakayama prefectural and city governments 
demanded that the agency remove the container from the company's 
premises and from Wakayama as quickly as possible. 

Sumitomo Metal asked the agency to obtain the consent of the 
prefectural and city governments before opening the container. 

But the local governments are demanding that the agency take 
responsibility for any consequences arising from opening the 
container, local government officials said. 

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sandy Perle					Tel:(714) 545-0100 / (800) 548-5100   				    	
Director, Technical				Extension 2306 				     	
ICN Worldwide Dosimetry Division		Fax:(714) 668-3149 	                   		    
ICN Biomedicals, Inc.				E-Mail: sandyfl@earthlink.net 				                           
ICN Plaza, 3300 Hyland Avenue  		E-Mail: sperle@icnpharm.com          	          
Costa Mesa, CA 92626                                      

Personal Website:  http://www.geocities.com/capecanaveral/1205
ICN Worldwide Dosimetry Website: http://www.dosimetry.com

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