Australia will assist in training Vietnamese experts to identify and store orphaned or poorly managed radioactive sources, as well as to build a legal framework for this issue. The program is part of the Regional Southeast Asia Radiation Security Project, aimed at minimizing risks across the region.
 |
The familiar symbol on devices containing radioactive materials. The public can use this symbol to be cautious. |
The Regional Southeast Asia Radiation Security Project, funded by the Australian government with a budget of $4.5 million, will be implemented over three years, starting from July 2004. The project has recently begun in Vietnam, and this week, the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organization will engage with the Nuclear Radiation Control and Safety Department (Ministry of Science and Technology) to assess Vietnam’s support needs.
Experts from the Nuclear Radiation Control and Safety Department report that Vietnam currently only controls large radiation sources (such as medical radiation facilities, industrial irradiation, and industrial radiography…). These sources are documented and regularly inspected upon importation, making loss unlikely. However, it is concerning that there are radioactive sources lost during the war (mostly in the South) and radioactive devices imported before 1997 (when the state did not manage this issue). Lost radiation sources, if released into the environment, can severely impact public health, particularly posing a strong cancer risk. In Thailand, in 2000, three radiation sources were carelessly stored in a parking lot, dismantled for scrap metal, leading to ten people suffering from severe radiation exposure, with three fatalities.
Mr. Lê Quang Hiệp, Chief of the Nuclear Radiation Control and Safety Department, stated that the public cannot visually identify whether a piece of metal contains radioactive materials, leading them to unknowingly bring dangerous “scrap metal” home from dumps. To recognize these materials, Mr. Hiệp advises the public to pay attention to the distinctive symbol of radioactive materials, which is a trefoil (as shown in the image above), and to immediately report any finds to the Department of Science and Technology or the Nuclear Radiation Control and Safety Department.
Thuận An
