RADIATION SCARE AT IGI AIRPORT SPREAD PANIC.
Organic oil from a consignment spilled to packets with radioactive liquid, triggering panic at the airport
A suspected radioactive material leak at Delhi’s airport that caused panic and forced agencies to cordon off the area for almost eight hours turned out to be a false alarm as authorities sounded an all-clear late on Friday evening.
Emergency response teams had swiftly moved in after a medical consignment from Turkey containing sodium iodide — a radioactive liquid used in so-called nuclear medicine — allegedly gave three workers itchy eyes at the Indira Gandhi International Airport.
Authorities closed down the cargo terminal and the workers were hospitalised but the country’s atomic energy regulator ruled out a leak hours later.
“After an extensive assessment, the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) has confirmed no leak of any radioactive substance in the subject shipments at Delhi airport. Based on the AERB clearance, Celebi (cargo terminal operator) already resumed import operations. All other operations continue to be normal and were never interrupted,” said a Delhi airport spokesperson.
Officials said a Turkish Airlines flight from Istanbul arrived at 4:30 am and four hours later, a leak was detected that turned out not to be radioactive.
“It turned out the organic oil from a nearby consignment spilled and reached the radioactive packets. Staff thought the leakage was in those packets and alerted officials,” said a defence staff present at the airport.
An emergency response team, which included members of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and atomic regulators, rushed to the spot to contain the alleged leak of Sodium Iodide 131, used to treat hyperthyroidism and thyroid cancers.
“This area was far away from any of the passenger terminals with absolutely no risk of exposure to any passengers. The area was cordoned off. IGIA airport has two cargo terminals. At the Celebi Cargo Terminal, export operations were proceeding normally and import operations were temporarily halted. At the second terminal both export and import operations were uninterrupted,” said a Delhi airport spokesperson.
A Turkish Airlines spokesperson said the company had activated radiological surveys on board the concerned aircraft but found no evidence.
“We were called by airport staff and a 10-member team equipped to deal with CBRN (chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear) emergency was rushed to airport. We detected the leak and cordoned off the area,” said OP Singh, director general of NDRF.
The Delhi Disaster Management Authority also sent its team and fire tenders from the Delhi Fire Service were the first responders on the site.
AFTER AN EXTENSIVE ASSESSMENT, THE AERB HAS CONFIRMED NO LEAK OF ANY RADIOACTIVE SUBSTANCE IN THE SUBJECT SHIPMENTS AT DELHI AIRPORT.
DELHI AIRPORT SPOKESPERSON