Sounds like a moisture-density guage to me.
Jim Hardeman
Jim_Hardeman@mail.dnr.state.ga.us
>>> "Sandy Perle" <sandyfl@earthlink.net> 5/1/2000 9:25:17 >>>
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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