Reports of radioactive leaks at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport turned out to be a false alarm on May 29, 2015. The atomic inspectors gave an all clear. It was earlier reported by the airport authorities that there had been a leak in the consignment of sodium iodide 131 which is a radioactive liquid which is used in the nuclear medicine.
The consignment had arrived from a Turkish Airlines passenger flight. The spokesman for airport operator DIAL said, “After an extensive assessment, the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) has confirmed that there was no leak of any radioactive substance in the subject shipments at Delhi Airport”.
DIAL added that the company handling the materials, Celebi has got a clearance to resume operations of import and that all the operations in Delhi Airport continue to be normal and will remain uninterrupted. The emergency team includes representatives of the National Disaster Response Force and atomic regulators that cordoned off the portion of the airport’s cargo complex where the leak was suspected. The DIAL also said that the Bhaba Atomic Research Atomic Centre and the Natural Disaster Management Force was also at the site to make arrangements for the removal of the material.
Meanwhile, operations for the passengers remained unaffected. Turkish airlines have so far not commented on the issue.
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