China says radioactive substances contained in quake area
The Boston Globe: Emergency crews worked yesterday to secure 15 sources of radiation buried in the rubble of China's catastrophic earthquake, the government said.
One senior official said China faces "a daunting challenge" to prevent environmental contamination from other sources.
There has been no leak of radioactive substances into the environment, Wu Xiaoqing, China's vice minister for environmental protection, told reporters in Beijing.
He said 50 sources of radiation were buried by debris from the massive earthquake in central China, 35 of which had been secured. The rest lay buried or located but unreachable under collapsed buildings. He gave no specifics about the radiation sources.
The number of unsecured sources was far higher than the two the government reported earlier this week. Foreign observers said the radioactive sources probably came from materials used in hospitals, factories, or in research, not for weapons.
One senior official said China faces "a daunting challenge" to prevent environmental contamination from other sources.
There has been no leak of radioactive substances into the environment, Wu Xiaoqing, China's vice minister for environmental protection, told reporters in Beijing.
He said 50 sources of radiation were buried by debris from the massive earthquake in central China, 35 of which had been secured. The rest lay buried or located but unreachable under collapsed buildings. He gave no specifics about the radiation sources.
The number of unsecured sources was far higher than the two the government reported earlier this week. Foreign observers said the radioactive sources probably came from materials used in hospitals, factories, or in research, not for weapons.
