Radioactive Container Stolen in Seoul

A container holding radioactive material was stolen in Ahnyang City, Kyung-gi Province, police sources said. An investigation is currently under way.

Kyung Do Enterprise, Ltd., a company that manufactures radioactive isotope products, reported to the police yesterday that it had lost the container which held a radioactive isotope (CS-137) some time between midnight to 10 a.m. on Wednesday. It was in a car parked on a street in front of DPT Korea, Inc. in Hokye Dong, Ahnyang City.

"We rented the container to DPT Korea, Inc. at around 2 p.m. on March 4th. DPT Korea asked for use of the container to test the performance of a remote controlled industrial robot. Then, DPT Korea informed us that it had lost the container, which, they said, was in a Carnival van. We reported the case to the police," the company spokesperson said.

The stolen radioactive material was in a steel container 120mm by 200mm. It contained 15mmci of radiation, and a yellow radioactive warning sticker was attached to the surface of the container.

Kyung Do said that the container can sustain light impact and if a leakage occurs at all, however, it could burn or damage the human body in various ways.