by Richard S. Ehrlich
BANGKOK, Thailand -- U.S. investigators said
they want to send to America a sample of the
illegal radioactive cesium-137 seized from a
Thai smuggler in a hotel parking lot, amid fear
that it may have been destined to create a
"dirty bomb".
Copyright by Richard S. Ehrlich
Potential Radioactive "Dirty Bomb" Materials Seized In Thailand Sting
U.S. officials also want to determine if the seller
had access to more radioactive material after
police indicated he boasted of an additional
supply available to anyone with enough cash.
U.S. agents involved in the joint American-Thai
sting operation also faced confusion after local
and international media reported Narong
Penanam was caught with 30 kilograms of
cesium-137.
That was "misreporting" because "the entire
container weighed 30 kilograms", including the
box's heavy metal casing and internal
protective shells, the U.S. Embassy
spokesperson said in an interview on Tuesday
(June 17).
"He was arrested in the process of attempting
to sell" the radioactive substance which has
been "tested and confirmed to be cesium-137,"
the embassy spokesperson said.
The U.S. envoy said he was unable to describe
the actual amount of cesium-137 in the box
because reluctant investigators "handling it"
risked the danger of radioactive contamination
if they attempted to weigh it.
U.S. officials will request a "sample" of the
radioactive material be released from Thai
custody so it can be examined in America to
determine its origin, structure and other
characteristics, he said.
The U.S. Embassy's deputy customs attache,
Gary Phillips, "has had initial discussions" with
Mr. Narong inside Bangkok's heavily guarded
Crime Suppression Division building, but details
of the interrogation were not announced.
When Mr. Narong was busted on June 13,
officials were concerned that the radioactive
substance could be combined with dynamite or
other explosives to create a "dirty bomb," the
U.S. spokesperson added.
Such a device could create medical problems
for victims in addition to any physical damage
caused by the blast.
No evidence of Mr. Narong's involvement in
such a plot has been made public.
He was described as a primary school teacher
who lived in the eastern Thai city of Surin.
Mr. Narong was charged with illegal possession
of a radioactive material, punishable by up to a
year in prison and a 240 U.S. dollar fine.
In the presence of U.S. Customs officers, Thai
police arrested the 44-year-old man in a
Bangkok hotel parking lot during lunch time
when he tried to sell them the metal box which
he said held radioactive material, Police
Colonel Pisit Pisutisak told reporters.
Cesium-137 looked like a "beautiful blue,
glowing powder" when it killed four people
after scavengers discovered it in a "medical
teletherapy machine" in Brazil in 1987, U.S.
Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham told an
International Atomic Energy Agency
conference in March.
Cesium-137 is used to sterilize food, and make
industrial gadgets "such as level and thickness
gauges and moisture density gauges,"
according to the U.S. government's
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
"Cesium-137 is also a component of low level
radioactive waste at hospitals and research
facilities" where it "is also commonly used in
hospitals for diagnosis and treatment, as a
calibration source, and large sources can be
used to sterilize medical equipment," the EPA
said.
The EPA said "exposure to radiation from
cesium- 137 can result in malignant tumors and
shortening of life."
email: animists *at* yahoo dot com
Richard S. Ehrlich, a freelance journalist who has reported news from Asia for the past 25 years, is co-author of the non-fiction book, "HELLO MY BIG BIG HONEY!" -- Love Letters to Bangkok Bar Girls and Their Revealing Interviews.
His web page is
http://www.oocities.org/asia_correspondent