Radioactive Sources Recovered

Two abandoned and potentially dangerous radioactive devices have been recovered in Georgia?s western mountainous region of Racha, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said on July 28.

Recovery radioactive items was the result of a new effort by the IAEA team and the Georgian Ministry of the Environment to trace lost sources of radiation in Georgia.

Both of the radioactive sources were Caesium 137.

“It could have resulted in serious injuries, or even death, if someone had picked it up and put it in their pocket for a period of time,” said Carolyn Mac Kenzie, a radiation source specialist in the IAEA who accompanied the start-up of the mission.

According to the IAEA, as many as 300 radioactive sources have been recovered in Georgia since the mid 1990s, and there has been at least one death and a number of injuries to the public as a consequence.

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