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Radioactive uranium seized in Kerala

The Ernakulam Crime Branch in Kerala has arrested eight persons in connection with the possession of a radioactive uranium rod.

Ernakulam Police Commissioner Arun Kumar Sinha told rediff.com that the rod found in the possession of scrap dealers in the city was a semi-arch rod, 22-centimetres long and 1.5 centimetres thick.

Police suspect that the rod could have found its way to scrap dealers from the Ernakulam general hospital, where cobalt and radiation units were auctioned in 1994. The two units were dismantled before they were auctioned.

Sinha said that they were confirming details of the auction with the hospital authorities. He said that radioactive substances could not be auctioned in this manner and added that it constituted a crime under the Radioactive Substance Act.

The hospital authorities responsible for auctioning the radioactive substance are liable for action as per the act, according to police officials investigating the case. They said they were waiting for the version of the hospital authorities.

The police officials have informed the Babha Atomic Research Centre at Trombay about the seizure. The police officials said that only BARC authorities could ascertain the radioactivity of the rod. The material is now kept in a lead chamber.

The squad had seized the material from one Shihabuddin, who had bought it from one Siraj. It is said that Siraj had three rods in his possession for more than a year and had buried them in his compound. He had reportedly sold two rods to a businessman in Cochin for Rs100,000.

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