Search for missing radioactive cylinder begins in Thailand

• Officials in Thailand are searching for a metal cylinder.
• Containing Caesium-137, a highly radioactive chemical.
• Caesium-137 can cause skin burns, radiation illness, and potentially fatal cancer.

Officials in Thailand are frantically searching for a metal cylinder that contained hazardous radioactive material and went missing from a power station this week.

They have issued a major health risk warning to the general public in case they come across the cylinder.

The information was only recently made public, only two months after Australia was compelled to start a similar search to identify a tiny radioactive capsule that was eventually discovered alongside a roadway.

But, the Thai canister has vanished in a location that is far more populated than the Australian capsule, which was lost in the country’s desolate outback hundreds of kilometers from the closest major city.

The cylinder, which is missing from the coal power plant in Prachin Buri, a province in central Thailand east of the capital Bangkok, was reported missing by personnel on March 10 during normal checks. It is 30 centimeters (4 inches) long and 13 centimeters (5 inches) wide.

Almost 500,000 people live in the province, which is home to some of Thailand’s top national parks, including the well-known Khao Yai National Park, a favorite destination for both domestic and foreign tourists.

From the surrounding megacity of Bangkok, which is home to some 14 million people, day trips to the parks are frequent.

The cylinder, which was used to measure ash, was a part of a silo and contains Caesium-137, a highly radioactive chemical that experts warn may be fatal.

According to a statement from the Office of Atoms for Peace (OAP), a government regulator for radioactive and nuclear research in Thailand, search teams and drones have been sent out to find the missing cylinder.

On Wednesday, reputed media outlet was informed by Deputy Secretary General Pennapa Kanchana that the cylinder was being located using radioactive detection equipment.

“We are searching in waste recycling shops in the area,” she said. “We are (using) survey equipment to detect for signals. For areas we cannot reach, we have dispatched drones and robots.”

Thai police, who think the cylinder has been missing since February but was just formally reported lost by the National Power Plant 5 business on Friday, are also taking part in the hunt.

Authorities were hampered by “restricted views” of the machine when reviewing CCTV footage from the plant, Si Maha Phot district police head Mongkol Thopao told Media.

“It is unclear if the item was stolen and sold to a recycling shop or misplaced elsewhere,” Mongkol said. “We have dispatched our teams to recycle shops around the area… we still couldn’t find it.”

Caesium-137 can cause major health issues for anyone who are exposed to it, including skin burns from close contact, radiation illness, and potentially fatal cancer risks, especially for those exposed unknowingly over extended periods of time.

With a half-life of around 30 years, caesium-137 might continue to endanger the public for many years if it is not discovered.

Pennapa, from the Office of Atoms for Peace, pleaded with the populace to be calm.

“If general people (come into) contact unknowingly, the health effects will depend on the level of the (radiation) intensity. If it’s high, the first thing we will see is skin irritation.”

In Thailand, incidents of this nature have occurred previously.

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