Malaysia mobilises special task force to locate missing radioactive device

SHAH ALAM (BERNAMA) - The Selangor police and the Atomic Energy Licensing Board (AELB) have mobilised a special task force to locate a missing radioactive device.

Selangor police chief Datuk Mazlan Mansor said the team was mobilised to track down the 23kg Radioactive Dispersal Device (RDD) round-the-clock after the authorities received a report over the loss of the equipment.

"So far, the police have not received any new lead on the matter. We have not received any information as to whether the equipment has been taken out of Selangor," he told reporters on Thursday (Aug 23).

The device was reported missing between 2am and 3am on Aug 10 when it was being taken from Seremban to Shah Alam by two technicians of a company that offers testing, calibration and inspection services to heavy industries, including oil, gas and energy companies.

According to New Straits Times, the missing device is an industrial radiography device that contains the radioactive isotope Iridium-192.

Iridium-192 emits beta and gamma radiation with an estimated half-life of 73 days.

It is learnt that the device, which can cause radiation sickness, has a market value of about RM75,000 (S$25,000).

Police are searching for the missing RDD, fearing that it could be used to make a dirty bomb if it falls into the wrong hands.

Authorities are also worried that the RDD may cause massive radiation exposure if it is dismantled for scrap metal.