30 Prachinburi children 'had a cold, not radioactive poisoning'
The 30 school children who have been ill in Prachinburi had the common cold, not radioactive poisoning, the provincial public health office announced on Saturday.
Fears of radioactive poisoning stem from the loss of a cylinder carrying caesium-137, which went missing from a power plant in Prachinburi’s Sri Maha Pho district. The cylinder was later found at a metal foundry in the province’s Kabin Buri district last Sunday.
Specialists from the Office of Atoms for Peace had checked the metal that had been melted in the furnace and detected no signs of radioactivity. They reckoned the isotope had been trapped inside the melting pot when it vaporised.
Dr Surin Seubseung, chief of Prachinburi’s public health office, eased fears by saying students in the Kabin Buri school, which is about 3km from the foundry, reportedly falling ill had nothing to do with the melted caesium. The authorities have not named the foundry so far.
He said teachers had alerted Kabin Buri Hospital this week that some 30 students were absent from school because they had fever, sore throat and cough.
“I visited the children who had been admitted to the hospital on Friday and found that they were suffering from the common cold due to rising temperatures. Also, some of these children had been playing outdoors,” he said. “Public health officials have been combing areas around the foundry and nearby communities and have, so far, found no traces of radioactivity.”
Surin said he has instructed health officials to go door to door to talk to local residents and find out more about their concerns.
He added that those who have been exposed to caesium-137 would develop symptoms such as fever, nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, diarrhoea and a burning rash where the isotope may have come in contact with the skin. In some cases, the substance can affect the victim’s white blood cells, he added.
He went on to say that urine and blood samples of all 70 employees of the foundry have come back normal. Since the isotope did not spread through a large area, locals can rest assured they are safe.
Those with health concerns can call the Department of Disease Control hotline at 1422.
