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China seeks lost radioactive ball Chinese 'find' radioactive ball
(about 4 hours later)
Chinese officials are urgently seeking a nugget of deadly radioactive material encased in a lead ball the size of a watermelon that was lost this week. Chinese officials say that potentially deadly radioactive material lost in north-western Shaanxi province may have been found at a steel mill.
The Caesium-137 may be buried in a scrap yard under tonnes of metal, and local officials believe it could have been melted down. Officials told the BBC that they had detected what may be the missing Caesium-137, adding that it may have been melted down.
The lead ball was lost when workers at a cement plant tore down an old factory in the north-western Shaanxi Province. The Caesium-137, encased in lead, was lost this week when workers at a cement plant demolished an old factory.
The material was part of a measuring instrument and is extremely toxic.The material was part of a measuring instrument and is extremely toxic.
The smallest amount can cause infertility, cancer and even death. Caesium-137 is a radioactive isotope, formed mainly through nuclear fission. The smallest amount can cause infertility, cancer and even death.
Eight trucks worth of scrap were sold to local steel mills. Tongchuan city officials believe the radioactive material - and its protective container - are likely to have been melted down. Eight trucks worth of scrap gathered at the disused factory in Tongchuan city were sold to a local steel mill, according to official news agency Xinhua.
Plants in the area are now being tested for radioactivity. Local environmental officials told the BBC they were mounting a clean-up operation at the mill in Fuping county.
The BBC's Quentin Sommerville in Beijing says China has an appalling record on industrial safety - there are around 30 cases of radioactive material being lost every year.The BBC's Quentin Sommerville in Beijing says China has an appalling record on industrial safety - there are around 30 cases of radioactive material being lost every year.
In Tongchuan last July a farmer was arrested after he stole a similar radioactive container and attempted to sell it for scrap. Last July, a farmer in Shaanxi province was arrested after he stole a similar radioactive container and attempted to sell it for scrap.