China: Earthquake buried 32 sources of radiation, but overall ...
- From: "CKinSF <ck_in_sf1@xxxxxxxxxxx>" <CKinSF <ck_in_sf1@xxxxxxxxxxx>>
- Date: Wed, 21 May 2008 00:25:17 +0800
China: Earthquake buried 32 sources of radiation, but overall ...
International Herald Tribune - France
AP BEIJING: More than 30 sources of radiation were buried by debris from
the massive earthquake in central China last week, but all except two have
been ...
<http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/05/20/asia/AS-GEN-China-Earthquake-Nuclear.php>
China: Earthquake buried 32 sources of radiation, but overall situation is safe
The Associated PressPublished: May 20, 2008
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BEIJING: More than 30 sources of radiation were buried by debris from the
massive earthquake in central China last week, but all have either been
recovered or safely cordoned off, state media reported Tuesday.
The Chinese government had previously said all nuclear facilities affected by
the May 12 earthquake were safe and under control, but did not give any details
about which sites were affected or whether any were damaged.
But the quake buried 32 sources of radiation under rubble in Sichuan province,
the heart of the disaster zone, Xinhua News Agency reported, citing Minister of
Environmental Protection Zhou Shengxian.
All but two sources have been recovered, and the remaining two have been
located, cordoned off and will soon be transported to a safer location, Xinhua
said.
Xinhua did not elaborate on any potential threat to the public and did not
provide details on the radioactive sources beyond calling them "nuclear
facilities and radioactive sources for civilian purposes."
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Thierry Charles, an official at a French nuclear watchdog who has seen reports
from the Chinese nuclear safety agency, said materials found in the rubble
appeared to come from hospitals, factories or laboratories and were not for used
for making nuclear fuel or weapons.
Though Sichuan has no commercial nuclear power plants, the province has
extensive military and nuclear weapons research facilities. The headquarters for
China's nuclear weapons design facility is in Mianyang and a plutonium
processing facility is in Guangyuan, both cities damaged by the quake.
In response to the quake, the military sent soldiers to protect nuclear sites
and the country's nuclear safety agency notified staff to be prepared in case of
an environmental emergency.
China's main government Web site and a state-run newspaper described "nuclear
facilities" and "radioactive sources" as including power plants, reactors, and
sites for fuel production and waste disposal, as well as materials used for
scientific research and medical treatment.
"It doesn't shock me that there would be radioactive items found," particularly
hospital equipment, said Charles, director of plant safety at the French
Institute for Radiological Protection and Nuclear Safety.
An unknown number of hospitals were damaged or destroyed in the earthquake. The
Sichuan province health department listed 489 major hospitals in areas that were
hardest hit.
Workers removing radioactive material would first find it with detection
devices, then extract the material and place it in a sealed container quickly,
Charles said. Then it would be repaired or disposed of as nuclear waste.
Information so far suggests "a good reaction by the Chinese teams," Charles
said.
However, he said risks remain, primarily from any materials that have not been
retrieved or sealed. People who remain in close proximity could receive
excessive doses of radiation.
He said there was also a risk people could be exposed to radioactivity if some
materials were crushed, for example in a building collapse.
Overall, he did not foresee a major risk to groundwater or health because most
of the material was probably metal equipment, not fuel or something that
disperses more widely.
The French watchdog agency has previously said that China reported "light
damage" to unspecified nuclear facilities that were being dismantled before the
quake.
___
Associated Press writer Angela Charlton in Paris contributed to this report.
CKinSF.
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