Terminal 3 of the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport here was on its toes on Sunday following a suspected radiation leak from medical equipment marked as “radioactive”.
The radiological emergency, which was triggered by a misinterpreted radiation reading, was called off soon after. Later, officers clarified that there was no leakage.
Suspect package contained nuclear medicine
Nuclear medicine Molybdenum 99 (MO-99), which was to be delivered at the BLK Super Speciality Hospital here, had reached Delhi on Air France Flight 226 on Saturday night. However, on Sunday morning the medical consignment landed in a part of the cargo area it was not designated for. The consignee for the package is Dhiti Biotech India Private Limited while the consigner is CISBIO International.
“The consignment included 16 packets of material used for nuclear medicine and cancer treatment. Employees from ground handling agency Celebi picked up around 10 packages. Seeing the packages marked as “radioactive consignment”, an employee of the company noted down the radiation reading,” said an official.
District Magistrate (New Delhi) Abhishek Singh said the reading was not properly interpreted, as a result of which a leak was suspected. The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) was then alerted, who in turn informed the Air Traffic Control (ATC).
Later, other stakeholders such as the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB), National Disaster Response Force, National Disaster Management Authority, and the airport police sent teams to the cargo terminal.
The area was immediately cordoned off with all workers asked to vacate the premises. Ramesh, who is a loader, said he was working when he heard an announcement declaring an emergency, instructing them to move to a safer place.
The NDRF was then informed about a suspected radioactive leak from a sanitised container. Soon after, a team reached the location and detected the location of the radiations.
Addressing the media after the emergency was called off, senior NDRF official Dr Harish Sood said that the AERB officials found that the radiations to be within permissible limits, and that no harm was caused.
“The quantity of radiation emitted from the nuclear medicine is below 1 mill rongen (measurement of radiation). There is no beta radiation in the surrounding areas and there is no leakage,” said Mr. Singh.
An official statement issued by the NDRF said that the radiation level at varied distances from the source was marked with the suspect packages isolated.
“The cargo complex was vacated as a preventive measure. Teams from the Atomic Energy Regulation Board (AERB) and the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) also reached the spot. After thorough detection and identification of the material, it was declared safe for movement. There is nothing to panic about and there is no effect on the passenger area. There was no leakage and there is no cause for concern,” said the statement.
The cargo complex was vacated as a preventive measure...there
is nothing to
panic about
