Radiation leak in Delhi, five fall ill

New Delhi, Apr 9: The 'mysterious shining object' which led to radiation poisoning in west Delhi has been identified as Cobalt-60, a radioactive isotope of cobalt.

The mysterious substance was found in a scrap shot located in the Mayapuri Industrial area. The 'very powerful' radiation leak led to five people falling ill triggering off fear among the people in the locality on Thursday, Apr 8 night.

The police acted swiftly and cordoned off the area upto one km. Scientists from the Crisis Management Group of Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) and Atomic Energy Regulation Board were rushed in.

“The experts have identified the material as Cobalt-60. They have identified six sources of Cobalt-60 from the scrap shop," BB Bhattacharya, member of National Disaster Management Authority is quoted as saying in a news agency report.

Bhaba Atomic Research Centre (BARC) and Narora Atomic Power Station experts also visited the site to ascertain if there was any other source of a similar emission in the vicinity on Friday, Apr 9 morning.

Further investigations into the source of radiation are on.

OneIndia News