Steve Quayle News Alerts

July 30, 2002
By Edward Tang THE STRAITS TIMES THAILAND BUREAU

BANGKOK - There are concerns over the security of Thailand's substantial stockpile of radioactive waste following recent reports that the material is being sought by terrorists as ingredients for 'dirty bombs'.

One report quoted a Thai security expert as saying that international terrorist groups such as Al-Qaeda were behind some of the piracy attacks on ships containing radioactive material in the Malacca Strait.

Dr Panitan Wattanayagorn of Chulalongkorn University, who obtained the information from the International Maritime Bureau, also said members of the separatist Tamil Tigers fighting against the Sri Lankan government were preying on vessels carrying the material.

Much of the concern, however, is centred on the growing stockpile of radioactive waste in storage facilities in Thailand.

Thailand is a major importer of cobalt-60 and iodine-131, which are used by hospitals for cancer treatment and by food and electronics companies for irradiation purposes.

The Bangkok-based Office of Atomic Energy for Peace (OAEP), which operates a small nuclear reactor, has strict guidelines for approving import and storage licences.

The agency is also the main custodian of radioactive waste in the country. It operates a 200-litre storage facility which, according to an official, is reaching its capacity.

'There's a lot of waste in our storage,' he told The Straits Times.

'We're building a new facility as we expect the present one to be full in a year's time.'

But there was no danger of leakage or theft, he said. The waste was stored in drums reinforced by a thick layer of cement to conform to international regulations.

The facility, which is located in Bangkok, is protected by a high wall and a fence and is guarded round the clock.

From next year, the OAEP will require importers to have an agreement with sellers to ship the waste back to the country of origin.

But as shipping costs will be high, most companies here are likely to store the waste in their own premises or, in the worst case, dump it illegally, as witnessed in a few cases already.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the global monitoring body, is concerned by the problem.

A recent report quoting unnamed officials said Thailand was among a number of countries that had been placed on the agency's security-risk list.

Apparently, the IAEA warned recently that many countries had defective nuclear energy programmes, including lax controls over waste disposal.

Officially, Thailand's OAEP has a clean safety record.

There has been no accident in the history of the organisation, which is set to build a 10-megawatt reactor to replace its 40-year-old nuclear plant.

The safety standards of Thai companies, however, are less than satisfactory.

In February 2000, three people died and more than 200 residents of a nearby province were exposed to radiation after scrap collectors accidentally cut open three waste containers of cobalt-60, which they had found in a car park.

The material was apparently stolen from a local electronics company and dumped by the thieves who could not find buyers.

The incident, which happened more than two years ago, would be viewed with grave concern today.

An official said: 'I cannot imagine the consequences if it had landed in the hands of terrorists.'

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