Hanoi (VNA) - Mismanagement has led to anincrease in dangerous incidents involving radio-active materials in Vietnam,said Deputy Minister of Science and Technology Pham Cong Tac.

There were about 4,000 radio-active materials being used in 1,100locations in Vietnam at the end of last year, the deputy minister saidat a conference held on December 1.

Except during emergency circumstances, inspectors of radiation andnuclear safety typically examine 120 locations a year. At this rate, it wouldtake almost 10 years for all units to be re-examined, Tac said. 

“It’s worth worrying about,” said the ministry’s chief inspectorTruong Hong Duong. He said that cases involving missing radio-active devicesraised alarms about the country’s lax security practices and the absence ofeffective mechanisms to control and monitor the use of radio-active devices.

They also revealed mismanagement, poor awareness and lack of legalcompliance among users of radio-active materials.

In April 2015, 45 kilogrammes of radio-active material wentmissing from the Pomina steel mill in Ba Ria-Vung Tau province. Despite days ofextensive search efforts, the material was never recovered.

In September 2014, the HCM City Apave Asia-Pacific Companyreported that it had lost track of a radio-active device, which was laterrecovered after a four-day search.

Early last year, a container of radio-active material went missingfrom Bac Kan Cement Company in the northern province of Bac Kan. The materialwas used to test clinker discharge in cement production.

Following the incidents, the Ministry of Science and Technologyconducted emergency inspections at 880 locations in 56 cities andprovinces using radio-active materials.

Of those examined, 84 were found to violate radiation regulations,Duong said at the meeting.

Common violations included users lacking licences to work withradio-active materials, failing to keep detailed records of usage and notproperly training staff and providing regular health checkups.

As many as 28 out of the 84 locations were described as beinghigh-risk and radio-actively insecure.

In July 2015, then Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, approved adirective No 17/CT-TTg on increasing security to manage radio-active devices.

The Ministry of Science and Technology was asked to collaboratewith Government agencies and local authorities, to perform a comprehensivereview of the country’s current regulations and security protocols on thecontrol of radio-active devices.

The ministry was made responsible for organising and providingtraining sessions on radiation safety and security. It was also ordered toestablish a database of the country’s radio-active devices and a securitysystem to monitor them.

Government agencies and ministries were asked to compile a list ofradio-active sources under their management, which will be regularly updatedand submitted to the ministry.

The then PM also ordered the Ministry of Public Security totighten control on the illegal sale and application of radio-active devices,build and improve emergency protocols in case radioactive devices went missing- and step up co-operation with international security agencies.-VNA