UPDATE: Thai Officials Safely Contain Caesium Contamination at Factory to Prevent Public Harm

PHOTO: Khaosod Online

National —

The Office of Atoms for Peace (OAP) announced on Monday that they have successfully contained the metal foundry where hazardous caesium-137 contaminated furnace dust was discovered.

First our previous story:

In a recent development, the Thai authorities have ordered the closure of a factory in Prachin Buri province after discovering signs of a missing hazardous radioactive tube.

Now for our update:

The foundry was located in the central part of Thailand in Prachin Buri province. OAP officials said at a press briefing that they could not detect other contamination within a five-kilometer radius outside the metal foundry and had safely contained the contaminated area.

Although a lot of bagged furnace dust from the melting plant had left the premises, OAP officials neither found contamination in any of them nor in any of the 70 employees of the facility.

The cylinder containing the radioactive caesium-137 was reported missing from a power plant on March 10th. Officials believed it had been transported to a steel melting plant located about 10 km away from the power plant and had later been melted and turned into red soot along with other scrap materials. The contamination was first detected at the melting factory.

According to Dr. Surin Suebsueng, the provincial health chief, caesium-137 contamination has the potential to harm the skin, digestive system, and nerve system, and may even lead to the development of leukemia.

Symptoms of contamination include seizure, vomiting and diarrhea.
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Aim Tanakorn
The local news translator at The Pattaya News. Aim is a twenty-four year old who currently lives in Bangkok. Interested in English translation, story-telling, and entrepreneurship, he believes that hard-working is an indispensable component of every success in this world.