Sources of radiation still prevalent in Mayapuri: Greenpeace

An international environment body today claimed to have detected sources of radiation in eight spots in west Delhi's Mayapuri scrap market, where exposure to radioactive material Cobalt-60 last month claimed one life and caused injuries to 11 persons.

A team from Greenpeace conducted a survey of the Mayapuri market, where the dismantling of a Gamma Irradiator bought
from Delhi University had led to the radiation exposure.

"Greenpeace investigation reveals immediate radiation risk to people at Mayapuri scrapyard. We have identified eight hotspots in Mayapuri having more than 5,000 times the natural background radiation," Karuna Raina from Greenpeace Nuclear Energy Campaigner, told PTI.
     Background radiation is constantly present in the
environment and is emitted from a variety of natural and
artificial sources.
     "This revelation comes after the government gave a clean
chit. Greenpeace has cordoned off the area and has shared
information with local people and the authorities concerned
like police, NDMA and AERB," Raina said.
     "The exposure we found here surpasses the acceptable
levels of annual radiation exposure," the activist claimed.
     The Greenpeace team had two certified radiation safety
experts and conducted the investigations with the help of
three sophisticated instruments like Gamma Spectometer and
Gamma Dosimeter.
     However, a senior police official said he will not give
much credit to the findings of the NGO as experts from Atomic
Energy Regulatory Board and Bhaba Atomic Research Centre had
searched the area and declared it radiation free.
     "We will go by what the expert government agencies
said," the official noted.
     When contacted, a senior National Disaster Management
Authority member said he was not aware of the claims made by
Greenpeace.
     The Delhi University was in the eye of a storm after it
came to light that the Cobalt-60 originated from the Gamma
Irradiator which the varsity which auctioned to a scrap
dealer.
     Last month, government experts had recovered 11 sources
of the radioactive substance from Mayapuri. PTI SJY
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