A hunt was underway last night for a missing radioactive package which ‘failed’ to arrive at Madrid’s Barajas Airport.
Spain‘s Nuclear Safety Council (CSN) sounded the alarm yesterday evening over the transport package with ‘four radioactive sources’ of ‘very dangerous’ category 2 Selenium-75.
Local reports said the CSN had sent a team of inspectors to the airport to try to glean more information.
El Pais, a Spanish media outlet, reported that the CSN has since located the package and it has been deactivated.
It was not immediately clear how the transport container with the radioactive package had gone missing.
The International Atomic Energy Agency defines Category 2 on a scale of one to five as ‘very dangerous for people because the radioactivity carries grave risks where material is not properly protected.
Before the package was recovered, the CSN was last night recommending that anyone who came across the package should avoid touching it and immediately alert the authorities.
Selenium-75 is an isotope that has radiopharmaceutical uses. Se-75 sources are also used on off shore oil rigs and at power generation plants during outages.
A hunt was underway last night for a missing radioactive package which ‘failed’ to arrive at Madrid’s Barajas Airport (pictured)
Spain ‘s Nuclear Safety Council (CSN) sounded the alarm yesterday evening over the transport package with ‘four radioactive sources’ of ‘very dangerous’ category 2 Selenium-75 (stock image)
The CSN said in its first comments about the scare : ‘The CSN has sent a team of three inspectors to Barajas Airport to find out more details about the incident and try to confirm whether the package has arrived at the airport.
‘The CSN is in constant contact with the Community of Madrid.’
The container the radioactive material was housed in has been described as a B (U) container, model NE4C. It should have reached the cargo terminal at the airport.
The CSN said: ‘All the radioactive sources are properly encapsulated and shielded to avoid radiation to the outside.
‘The four radioactive sources are category two, on a scale of one to five established by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), with five being the least dangerous category.
‘Category 2 is called ‘Very dangerous to humans’ because their radioactivity poses radiological risks if they are no longer protected by their shielding.
‘However, as long as they are kept inside the transport package, they do not pose a hazard.’
In February Barcelona Airport’s Terminal One was partially sealed off after it was discovered that the outer packaging of a box containing medical material with radioactive substances had broken.
The box was found in the hold of a Swiss Airline plane flying between Barcelona and Zurich.
Firefighters specializing in chemical hazards were dispatched to the scene, as well as special emergency responders, although no medical assistance was required.
