The Mayapuri radiation scare refuses to die down. Even as experts from BARC claimed that no "new sources" of radioactive cobalt-60 were found in the market on Thursday, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) sent out a note of caution saying that the soil has been "contaminated" at various locations.
However, they assured traders that all preventive steps were taken and that radiation levels in the area "were now receding".Talking to Times City, B B Bhattacharya, senior member of the NDMA said that various teams from Bhaba Atomic Energy Centre (BARC) and Directorate of Atomic Energy (DAE) found traces of cobalt-60 in the soil close to where 10 sources were located earlier. "The teams have removed the earth at the spots. These samples too have been sent to Narora Atomic Energy Centre at Bulandshahr," said Bhattachaya.
Experts from BARC and NDMA said that they have carried out survey in over 800 shops in west Delhi scrap market. "The team from Department of Atomic Energy had scanned all the shops in the market. The entire process which began around 11pm on Wednesday was completed early Thursday morning with the active help of the police," said Bhattacharya.
The experts at Mayapuri, however, said that the operation does not mean that the market is now a radiation-free zone. "The Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) is the competent authority to carry the checks and give the go ahead. We have informed them of our findings — including the possible soil contamination. We are expecting the authorities to take action soon," said a senior BARC official.
Two more sources of radiation were detected in the Mayapuri scrap market in the city on Tuesday night where Cobalt-60 was recovered. Eight sources of Cobalt-60 were recovered last week after six persons were admitted to city hospitals with burn injuries caused due to radiation. A seventh worker was admitted to AIIMS this week.
Bhattacharya said that they have also written to Board of Radiation and Isotope Technology (BRIT) — which handles supply of all radioactive elements in the country — to send its team to Bulandshahr to study the "make" of each source. "This will help them understand whether these elements were dumped from foreign shores," he said.
Meanwhile, the police said that the owner of shop D-127 from where two radioactive sources were detected on Tuesday had remained "evasive" for the third consecutive day. "We had questioned him the first day, but he could not shed any light on either the day the radioactive consignment had arrived or about its place of origin.
He didn't turn up for questioning on Thursday," said DCP (west) Sharad Aggarwal. He added that all possibilities were being looked into and that all international scrap auctioning sites are being 'monitored.'
"Those who are admitted at hospitals are still not fit enough to answer our questions," said the DCP.
