Radiation leak triggers panic in Delhi

ISLAMABAD (APP) In India the experts on Friday identified the material which led to a 'very powerful radiation in a west Delhi industrial area as Cobalt-60, the exposure to which left five people injured including one seriously. Scientists from the Bhaba Atomic Research Centre (BARC) and Narora Atomic Power Station also scanned Mayapuri Industrial area Friday morning to examine whether there was any other source of a similar emission in the vicinity, an Indian television channel reported. Panic was triggered in the locality Thursday night after the news of a radiation leak broke out with five people falling ill after coming in contact with a 'mysterious shining object in a scrap shop. 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 and former Director of BARC, told the media. Cobalt-60 is a radioactive isotope of cobalt, which is a hard, lustrous and grey metal. Cobalt-based colours and pigments have been used since ancient times for jewellery and paints, and miners have long used the name kobold ore for some minerals. The experts, who first collected and isolated the mysterious shining object from the scrap shop in Mayapuri Industrial area in a sophisticated lid, had sent it for further investigations.

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