Honduras asks Atomic
Energy Agency for help
in opening possibly
radioactive cargo
Honduras sought expert
help after spotting a
cargo container believed
to contain radioactive
waste in one of Central
America's largest ports.
Government official
Marcos Flores said the
shipment is believed to
be Honduran X-ray
supplies headed to
Taiwan for recycling,
but they want to be sure
that the material is
handled correctly. He
said the International
Atomic Energy Agency has
promised to send
specialists this week to
determine how to open
and inspect the cargo.
"We don't have
specialists here in
Honduras because we've
simply never had a
radioactive emergency
like this," Flores said.
George Gatling, the
American owner of the
Honduran shipping
company involved,
Inversiones Materiales,
said he did not know
what it contained and
declined to give
information on his
client.
"They just hired me to
send the container to
another country," he
told local media.
Today in Americas
The shipment was seized
Saturday in Puerto
Cortes after inspections
detected radiation
levels more than 130
times higher than those
allowed.
Puerto Cortes is one of
several major ports
chosen by the U.S.
government to
participate in an
international nuclear
detection program. In
April, the port began
screening shipments for
nuclear and radiological
materials that could be
used by terrorists to
build bombs.
Other participating
ports are Port Qasim,
Pakistan; Southhampton,
England; Salalah, Oman;
Port of Singapore; and
the Gamman Terminal at
Port Busan, Korea.
Data gathered from the
scans are sent almost
immediately to U.S.
Customs and Border
Protection officers
stationed at the
overseas ports.
More than 250,000
containers pass through
Puerto Cortes each year,
carrying US$1.8 billion
(euro1.3 billion) worth
of goods from Central
America to destinations
around the world,
including the United
States and Europe. |
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