An inspection of the Phu Yen Bridge and Road Construction Consulting Center revealed a leaky radioactive construction device that officials say could harm those who come in contact with it.
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The device, “used for gauging the density and inner structure of road foundations,” had been improperly stored for two years, leading to the leak, according to Thanh Nien.
“We found the low-level radioactive leak which may be unsafe for people exposed to it,” said Duong Ngoc Anh of the province's Department of Science and Technology, adding that the device had been used by Project Management Unit No. 1, under the Ministry of Transport between 2002-2003.
“After the project completed, the unit handed over the device to Phu Yen Bridge and Road Construction Consulting Center without any information apart from its American origin,” said Anh.
Things went wrong when the device was moved from the center to a new storage area two years ago where it was placed inside a safe, which was evidently unsuited for such an apparatus.
“On June 16, Tran Quang Nhat, deputy chairman of Phu Yen People’s Committee, ordered the consulting center to take immediate measures to store the device safely before handing it to the Da Lat Nuclear Research Center,” wrote the paper.
Vietnamese authorities are still on the hunt for another radioactive device that went missing in 2014.
Handling radioactive material, especially waste, has proven to be daunting task for the country which lacks proper disposal procedures and places to store it.
At a nuclear regulations conference in Da Lat last month, local and international scientists said that the country must have clear regulations to dispose of nuclear waste before the reactors at the Ninh Thuan nuclear power plant, Vietnam’s first, become operational.
[Photo via hd4desktop]
