Director of Radiation Safety:

According to Vuong Huu Tan, Director of the Nuclear Radiation Safety Department (Ministry of Science), not only in Vietnam but in the world, finding lost or lost radioactive sources is not easy.

"The radioactive recovery capacity of Cs-137 is not high. In 2013 alone, 137 radioactive sources were lost, of which only 17 sources were collected. While the radioactive source of the Cement Company in Bac Kan is very Small, only with corn or pea seeds , " Mr. Tan said when talking to the press 5/1.

Mr. Tan said, the company's radioactive source was licensed by the Radiation Safety Department from 2010 to 2013. After the above time limit, the company continued to use but did not apply for storage according to regulations and had been repeatedly reminded.

Equipment contains Cs-137 source.(Photo: Bac Kan Department of Science and Technology).

Due to the loss of business, Bac Kan Cement Company was distrained assets by the Department of Civil Judgment Execution of Bac Kan Town (now Bac Kan City) and assigned to Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Investment and Development. Bac Kan branch managed from January 2015.

On December 15, 2015, Mr. Dinh Van Bang, former director of the company informed the Department of Science and Technology of stolen Cs source - 137. This source is used by the company to check clinker discharge in cement technology. vertical shoots. Then the Department of Science informed the Department of Radiation Safety and directly Mr. Vuong Huu Tan came to work.

Cs-137 is a closed radioactive source , placed at the center of a cylindrical lead cylinder with a diameter of about 10x20 cm, gray gray, weighing 3-4 kg. The lead pot has the effect of shielding radiation from the outside environment. Cs-137 belongs to group 5, is a radioactive source with a total activity ratio of very small activity of 0.0016. According to the International Atomic Energy Agency, this type of source is not dangerous to humans, does not cause damage when in close contact.

A loss-making cement company in Bac Kan reported the loss of radioactive sources from the end of December 2015 until now.
"According to the International Atomic Energy Agency, this source of radioactivity is not dangerous to humans, nor can anyone be hurt by it in close contact, so people should not be confused," he said. Le Van The, deputy director of Bac Kan Department of Science and Technology affirmed.

The authorities of Bac Kan province are collecting traces and evidence and taking testimonies of the people involved to search for lost radioactive sources.

According to the department's leader, the Cs-137 radioactive source is used by the company in checking clinker discharge in vertical kiln cement technology. This is a sealed radioactive source, placed at the center of a cylindrical lead cylinder with a diameter of about 10x20cm, gray color, weighing 3-4kg. The lead pot has the effect of shielding radiation from the outside environment. This type of source is not dangerous for humans.