TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Authorities in Kazakhstan have been put on high-alert after a sealed container containing 50 kilograms of highly radioactive materials went missing in Kazakhstan’s west. A police spokesperson from Mangistaupada said on Tuesday that there is a possibility that the container "may have fallen out of the vehicle that was carrying it".
As reported by Al-Jazeera, the radioactive material has been identified as caesium-137 - which is used for medical purposes and in nuclear reactors and as such is commonly found in hospitals, universities and reactors around the world. Caesium-137 has a radioactive half-life of 30 years. An over-exposure to the isotope may cause serious radioactive burns and death.
Security officials are coordinating with emergency workers and the military to locate the missing radioactive containers. Kazakh authorities have yet to release more information on the incident - including the origins of the missing radioactive materials.
Kazakhstan is known to have inherited nuclear warheads and nuclear test sites from its Soviet forefathers.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has yet to comment on the incident. Every year, IAEA receives hundreds of complaints and reports of missing and/or stolen radioactive materials, which posses severe implications if they fall onto the wrong hands.
AL JAZEERA | VIQIANSAH DENNIS
