No new radioactive source found in west Delhi scrap market

Nuclear experts have scanned hundreds of shops in Mayapuri, a west Delhi scrap market, but have not found any new radioactive source, the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) said today.

Nuclear experts have scanned hundreds of shops in Mayapuri, a west Delhi scrap market, but have not found any new radioactive source, the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) said on Saturday.

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Eleven sources of radiation were detected in the Mayapuri scrap market recently when Cobalt-60 was recovered, injuring 11 persons including three scrap dealers.

Scientists are yet to pinpoint whether the origin of Cobalt-60 was from domestic or imported scrap.

Cobalt-60 pins, recovered from the market, are not produced domestically, experts say.

A senior AERB official said that the radioactive material recovered from Mayapuri is being examined in a "remotely handled facility" at the Narora Atomic Power Station in Bulandshahr in western Uttar Pradesh.

The official said AERB is planning to thoroughly scan the market before declaring it a safe zone.

"We have already scanned all the shops in the market. It is somewhere between 600 and 800," another official said.

Cobalt-based colours and pigments have been used since ancient times for jewellery and paints. Miners have long used the name kobold ore for some minerals.