A package with radioactive material is lost and recovered at the Madrid-Barajas airport: this is what the CSN says

In the last few hours, the Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport was the scene of an unusual situation. A bundle with four radioactive sources of selenium (se-75) was temporarily lost, prompting the Nuclear Safety Council (CSN) to issue a warning and mobilize a team to address the situation.

As reported by the EFE Agency this Mondaythe radioactive sources were category 2, which is considered “very dangerous for humans” while still being protected by their shielding. It should be noted that on the scale of 1 to 5 of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), category 5 is the least dangerous.

Radioactive sources have been located

As we noted above, the package was temporarily lost. The CSN team finally found it with its four sources “in perfect condition.” Now, what many of you will be thinking is how several capsules with radioactive isotopes could have gone out of sight at an airport.

We have written to both CSN and Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport for more information. For now, we have a brief chronology of events based on the official information provided by the CSN so far that can help us better understand this episode.

• Friday, December 13, 2024: The radioactive sources must arrive this day at a facility (the name of the facility has not been disclosed) after their arrival in Madrid, but they do not arrive.
• Monday December 16, 2024: The owner of the installation notifies the CSN that he has not received the shipment from Prague, Czechia.
• The CSN issues a statement. It indicates that the aforementioned package should have arrived at the cargo terminal of the Madrid Barajas Adolfo Suárez Airport. It states that these are category 2 sources, but points out that as long as they remain housed within the transport package they do not pose any danger.
• Those responsible for the CSN agree to send a team of three inspectors to the aforementioned airport. Its mission is to verify whether or not the package arrived at the cargo terminal.
• Monday, December 16, 2024, after 8:30 p.m.: The inspection team reports that the package has been found “with the four sources in perfect condition.”

The body in charge of nuclear safety in Spain indicated that they were in contact with the Protection of the Community of Madrid to manage the event. At this time, however, we do not know what will happen to the radioactive sources. We do not know if they will continue on their way to their destination or if they will be detained momentarily. It is also not clear if any type of investigation will be launched into what happened.

Images | Nuclear Safety Council

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A package with radioactive material is lost and recovered at the Madrid-Barajas airport: this is what the CSN says

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Xataka

by Javier Marquez.

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