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Scrap metals potentially dangerous, says Energy commission
2008-01-24 09:19:32
By Adam Ihucha, Arusha
Tanzania Atomic Energy Commission (TAEC) has cautioned that the ongoing countrywide scrap metal trade, could undermine the national security if left unchecked.
The chairman of TAEC Board of Directors, Dr Edward Masalla, warned that ill-intended people could easily capitalise on the booming scrap metal business to import radioactive materials.
``Illicit trafficking of radio active materials can take the form of scrap metals, so it is easy for dishonest people to even import bombs under their cover,`` said Dr Masalla.
Dr Masalla who is also an army colonel told the visiting Parliamentary Committee for Social Services that the government should examine the trade before it was too late and if possible look for alternative metal raw materials.
Currently, metal scraps are collected from different parts of the country for export or as raw materials for local industries.
``Our worry is real; scrap metal business could be a conduit for exposing people to radiation,`` he cautioned.
The TAEC Director General, Abraham Nyanda, told the House delegation that a number of public institutions, including hospitals and research bodies, defy regulations governing use of radioactive materials.
He said that the said government organisations do not carry regular maintenance of their X-rays and other equipment since they know no one will drag them to court of law.
Nyanda suggested that the legislation on the use of atomic energy in the country should be reviewed to take to task public institutions which use radioactive materials, but do not follow the laid down procedures.
According to him, many government hospitals use X-rays and other atomic energy gadgets which are not regularly maintained or defective.
The chairman of the House Social Services Committee, Omar Kwangw, directed TAEC to prepare a list of institutions whose activities contravene legislation on atomic energy application and submit them to his committee.
He said it was a pity that the anomaly was entertained by the public bodies, adding that poor control on the radioactive materials was a health hazard.
Members of the committee yesterday visited TAEC head offices at Ngaramtoni on the Namanga Road and the construction of the commission`s permanent headquarters at Njiro.
The MPs, who later left for a similar visit to Manyara Region, urged media practitioners to write on the nuclear technology and its dangers when exposed.
TAEC is a Regulatory and Service Parastatal Organization reconstituted from the National Radiation Commission (NRC) following the coming into effect of the Atomic Energy Act 2003 on July 1, 2004; and the subsequent demise of the Commission.
TAEC was established to regulate and supervise use of atomic energy and nuclear technology so as to protect workers, patients, the public and the environment from harmful effects of both ionising and non-ionising radiation.
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