The Chattogram customs house has suspended the release of a container loaded with imported scrap metal after detecting radioactive materials in it.
This marks the first such incident at the port in 11 years.
According to the port authorities, the container imported by Al Aqsa Steel Mills Ltd addressed at Dhaka鈥檚 Demra, from Brazil, triggered an alarm during scanning at the port鈥檚 Gate 4 on August 6.
The port authorities use the 鈥楳egaports Initiative Radiation Detection System鈥�, a United States-based technology system, for radiation checks in consignments, officials said.
According to the Customs House, Chattogram, the shipment weighing 135 tonnes, arrived in Chattogram on August 3 aboard the vessel MV Mount Cameron in five containers.
The vessel left Brazil鈥檚 Port of Manaus, calling at ports in Panama, the Netherlands, and Sri Lanka before reaching Chattogram.
After being offloaded at the JCB 7 jetty, one container was flagged for radiation, customs officials said.
鈥楤efore unloading one container, the radiation sensor signaled. It was then seized,鈥� Chattogram Port secretary Md Omar Faruk said.
Chattogram Customs House Joint Commissioner Marufur Rahman said that the container鈥檚 delivery was suspended and it was secured in a safe location.
Preliminary and secondary screenings revealed the presence of three radioactive isotopes Thorium-232, Radium-226, and Iridium-192 inside the container.
The initial reading of radiation was measured at one microsievert which was considered relatively low, Marufur said.
He, however, added that there was a risk for the actual radiation to be higher as the shield of the container wall might be preventing the proper measurement of the radioactive content inside it.
鈥楾he Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission has been informed of the situation, and their experts will inspect the site before we decide on the next step,鈥� Marufur Rahman further said.
Radioactive material was first detected in Bangladesh in 2014, when a shipment of stainless steel scraps that left the Chittagong Port for India was seized at the Colombo Port in Sri Lanka as radiation was suspected.
The ship was later brought back to Chattogram, where a team of experts from four countries removed a radium-beryllium source from inside the container.
