Radioactive fallout

A box laden with radioactive iodine has the people of a rural governorate panicking. Reem Leila reports on the danger in the ground

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A farmer is suffering from an inflamed hand, and the inhabitants of his village are refusing to venture outside their homes, after a batch of radioactive material fell from a delivery vehicle bound for Sohag in Upper Egypt.

The substance, which was headed for the National Cancer Institute, was being transferred from the Atomic Energy Agency (AEA) in Cairo on 28 January.

The substance, used in the treatment of cancer, contains radioactive iodine. Ten containers, weighing almost five kilogrammes each, were loaded with several ampoules of the iodine which fell from the roof of the delivery vehicle after a road collision with another vehicle on the Cairo- Sohag Desert Road. The cargo spilt onto a farm in Al-Hamdiya village, north of Sohag governorate. The driver managed to recoup all the packs save one, which he discovered was missing when he returned to the AEA.

The 45-year-old farmer, Ismail El-Sayed Ismail, who got in contact with the iodine on his farm, is suffering from an inflammation in his right hand which swelled after he took the iodine back to his home, keeping it there until it was discovered by police officers after he reported the incident.

Doctors accompanying the police examining Ismail told him to avoid drinking milk, eating eggs and cheese and to burn all barsim (the green plant used in feeding cattle) on his farm where the substance was reported to have fallen.

Based upon orders issued by an AEA delegation, the infected area must be placed under quarantine for not less than 21 days so as the impact of the radioactive iodine would become evident. Until then, all livestock which were found at or close to the infected area are to be immediately slaughtered. The AEA warned that slaughtering the cattle without the supervision of the General Veterinary Authority, which would order the meat not to be marketed, would cause serious health repercussions. According to Sami Taha of the AEA and a member of the delegation, the meat, milk or any product of possibly infected cattle might cause cancer to whoever eats it should the produce be sent to market. "The measuring device used in calculating the percentage of radioactive iodine revealed that the farmer, livestock and plants have been exposed to more than 100 millie-curies. The allowed percentage is less than five millie- curies," Taha said.

According to Abdel-Hakim Qandil, a professor of nuclear energy at Helwan University and another member of the delegation investigating the incident, it is illegal for any radioactive material to be transported without the permission of the National Centre for Nuclear Safety. Qandil added that the material was not packed inside lead- lined containers during transportation, which is the standard requirement for radioactive materials in transport. He suggested that there did not appear to be sufficient safety procedures in place to prevent the hazardous material from spilling and harming the public.

"Everything was done wrong," said Qandil commenting on the incident. He said the risks of contamination from the material would last up to at least three weeks and that the area surrounding the exposed site ought to be evacuated in order to prevent illness. He added that the farmer involved should be given a thorough medical examination in order to ensure his well-being.

Qandil said that transferring nuclear material "is a process that is usually accompanied by strict regulations and monitored by all specialised authorities," adding that such regulations were obviously not enforced in this case. He also said that, in general, the safest way to transfer radioactive material is by sea, not by road.

Fears have been raised as to the long-term impact of the radioactive iodine on villagers who have been too frightened to come into contact with Ismail or even come near the area where the radioactive iodine was found.

However, Ola Khorshid, professor of radiology at Cairo University, believes there is no serious impact on either the farmer or any of the nearby inhabitants. "The inflammation and swelling on the farmer's hand is simply a normal reaction after holding radioactive material with his bare hand. The swelling will disappear within the next few days," stated Khorshid. The real problem, she said, is in the livestock which ate from the barsim contaminated with the material. Any radioactive material is quickly and heavily absorbed in milk and all other dairy products. As such, the cattle must be terminated.