In Thailand, a container with highly radioactive contents disappeared without a trace. The steel cylinder with dangerous cesium-137 came from a steam power plant in the province of Prachinburi in the east of the country. He is believed to have been missing since the end of February, but the operators had alerted the police only last Friday, the newspaper "Bangkok Post" reported on Thursday, citing the authorities. The radioisotope is used, among other things, in industrial measuring instruments.
For clues to the whereabouts of the approximately 25-kilogram container, a reward of 50,000 Thai Baht (about 1400 euros) had been suspended, said the head of the public health services of the province of Surin Suebsueng. "If you find something that looks like the caesium-137 cylinder, please inform the authorities. Stay away and don't try to open it," Suebsueng said.
Possibly lost in transit
A special team had been set up to monitor possible cases of illness caused by the radioactive substance. However, no such case has been discovered so far.
While the authorities had initially followed the trail of a possible theft, it is now said that the cylinder may have been lost during transport to another location. Among other things, scrap dealers in the area searched for the container.
At the end of January, a radioactive capsule fell from a truck in Western Australia while transporting it from a mine to a depot. Experts and emergency services searched feverishly for days for the sleeve, which also contained caesium-137. Finally, the tiny capsule was found in the outback on the roadside. No one was harmed.