With the permission of the House I wish to share my time with Deputy Garland.
Adjournment Debate. - Loss and Recovery of Radioactive Material.
Is that satisfactory? Agreed.
I welcome the opportunity to raise this serious matter in the House having failed to have a Private Notice Question answered on the matter yesterday. How could a quantity of radioactive substance be left in an unattended vehicle so that it ended up being stolen? By the grace of God, it avoided ending up in a fire which destroyed the vehicle which was later found. We have been told that the container was found intact close to the vehicle. Will the Minister outline exactly the nature of the radioactive material? I presume it was licensed under Statutory Instrument No. 166.97 which requires all such substance to be licensed by the Nuclear Energy Board. Is the Minister satisfied that an incident of this nature could have occurred with a material so licensed? Has the Minister examined the circumstances relating to this case and is he satisfied that the regulations are adequate? I would like the Minister to give us details of the use for which this material was intended and to clarify whether it was just good luck that there was not a more serious outcome to this grave incident. Is the Minister taking any action to ensure that this distributor will not engage in this sort of thing again and see whether there is need for more general changes in relation to our controls in this area arising from this serious incident?
Like Deputy Flaherty, I wished to raise this matter in the House yesterday as a Private Notice Question, but unfortunately it was turned down. As far as I know, we are dealing with a very dangerous substance called Iridium 192. If this box had gone on fire or had been opened by an unauthorised person it would undoubtedly have been a major public health hazard. We all know the dangers of radiation, particularly in cancer-relatd illnesses. There is no doubt that the public were very seriously at risk in this case. I hope the Minister will deal with a number of factors in his reply. It appears that the security firm involved were in breach of the regulations. I understand from the Nuclear Energy Board that there must at all times be personal contact between an Iridium container and the staff of the company. Apparently the Iridium was in the van and the two people in the van went back into the factory for a few minutes, whereupon the van was driven off. I suspect that the van was not even locked. It is likely that the keys were left in the ignition. I hope that was not the case, because if it is, it demonstrates an extremely lax attitude by the company.
All these matters will have to be investigated. Another matter that might be more germane to the case is that I understand that the purpose for which this material is used is to test gas pipes and other industrial applicances. Surely there must be a safer and better way to conduct this testing without using such a dangerous material. Perhaps it is necessary, but that is the sort of issue we should be looking at. We should not use such dangerous materials unless it is absolutely necessary to do so, because mistakes will occur and there will be carelessness. The sooner we can find a safer way of doing whatever work this substance was used for, the better.
The Deputies are referring to an incident on 2 March 1992, when a van was stolen in Tallaght from outside the business premises of NDT Services. The van, when stolen, had an board an industrial radiography source. I would like to emphasise from the outset that this container was recovered intact, there was no leakage of radioactive material and consequently no danger to the public.
Under the Nuclear Energy Order, 1977, relating to the general control of radioactive substances, the Nuclear Energy Board issue licences for the custody, use, manufacture, importation, distribution, export and disposal of radioactive substances, devices and waste products. The company whose vehicle was stolen, held such a licence from the Nuclear Energy Board. The conditions attached to the licence include requirements that loss or theft be reported to both the Nuclear Energy Board and the Garda.
Vehicles carrying radioactive sources are required to be accompanied by a qualified person and secure and safe parking must be provided for any vehicle unattended while that vehicle contains a radioactive source. The internal operating procedures laid down by NDT Services Ltd in their radiation safety manual also stress these safety and security requirements.
Radioactive sources of the type in question in this incident are routinely used in the testing of a wide range of engineering components and structures, for example testing aircraft engine parts and gas pipelines.
The circumstances surrounding the incident as outlined to me by the Nuclear Energy Board are as follows: at approximately 17.45 on Monday, 2 March 1992, the Nuclear Energy Bord were advised by the manager of NDT Services, a small company specialising in the testing of engineering components, that a van containing an industrial radiography source, Iridium 192, had been stolen from outside their premises in Cookstown Industrial Estate, Tallaght about 30 minutes earlier. The company also reported that one of their employees had observed the van being driven away. The van in question was fitted with a radio and was immediately radioed by the company with information that the van contained a radiation source which should not be touched. However as no response was received from the van, it is not known whether information was received by the occupants of the van.
The nuclear energy board immediately contacted the gardaí at Tallaght who had already been informed of the theft by the company. The gardaí agreed to broadcast messages on national radio and TV requesting the public to report any sighting of either the van or the radioactive source container to the gardaí and not to interfere with the container. This notice was first included in the 6.30 p.m. news bulletin on RTE.
Later that evening, the board were informed by gardaí that they were investigating a report that a burnt out van had been spotted in a field near Rathcoole. This report led to a search of the area in which the gardaí, the Nuclear Energy Board and a representative from the company participated with some local assistance. The fire brigade also assisted in the search. Eventually, at about midnight, the van was found burnt out and the container discovered about 30 metres from the van. The officer of the Nuclear Energy Board carried out a radiation survey which confirmed that the container was intact. The container was then brought back to the offices of the company by their personnel.
The radiation source was contained in a specially designed and shielded container. The container has a very high quality locking device which can only be opened with a special key. It would be extremely difficult to break into the container which is designed to conform with the regulations of the International Atomic Energy Agency for the Safe Transport of Radioactive Material and, as such, must be able to withstand a range of accidents including the ability to withstand severe fire conditions. The container has an embossed radioactivity symbol also designed to withstand fire so that the container could be identified after a fire. Tests have successfully been carried out to demonstrate the integrity of these radiography containers and of the ability of the radioactivity symbol to remain intact after a fire.
The board have requested a full report of the incident from the licensee, from the time the vehicle was stolen until the item was recovered. I have asked the Nuclear Energy Board to pursue the company for an immediate report and specifically to inquire into how this material was left unattended, as the first indications from the board are that it appears that in this incident the carefully laid down procedures were not followed by the company. On receipt of this report the Nuclear Energy Board will consider what steps should be taken to improve security.
I, of course, share the concern of the Deputies in this matter but I would emphasise that the emergency arose not because of the loss of this container but because of the criminal theft of a van in which the container was being held. However, there are certain aspects of the case which require clarification and I can assure the Deputies that these matters will be fully addressed in the report which I have asked to be prepared as a matter of urgency.
May I add, in conclusion, for the information of the House that the new Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland will be established very shortly. The new institute will replace the Nuclear Energy Board and will have comprehensive powers under the Radiological Protection Act, 1991, to deal with radiological protection matters which need to be confronted from time to time both on the international front but also in localised instances such as the Tallaght incident.
I would also stress that the record in relation to the use of radioactive sources in Ireland has been excellent and the licensing arrangements of the Nuclear Energy Board have contributed to a large degree to their safe use. The overall commitment of the companies involved to safety priorities has resulted in high standards being observed by the industry in Ireland.