New Delhi: Close on the heels of radiation exposure at a scrap market here, experts detected Wednesday one more source of radiation in the same area even as another affected person was admitted to AIIMS taking the number of victims to seven.
National Disaster Response Force reached the area Tuesday evening and found smaller sources of Cobalt-60 in a shop, located half a kilometer away from the shop where radiation meterial was found earlier. The affected area has been sealed. Just last week, six persons were reported to have suffered from burn injuries after coming in contact with an object identified as radioactive Cobalt-60. Doctors believe early recovery of the patients is highly unlikely.
"We have been alerted about one more source of radiation in the Mayapuri area. It is smaller in size than the earlier one," Dr B Bhattacharya, Member, National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), said. Four experts from Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, 15 from NDMA along with one expert from Atomic Energy Regulatory Board will start work in the area by tomorrow morning, he said.
Earlier on April 8, a radiation leak was reported from Mayapuri industrial area after a scrap dealer and his four employees suffered burn injuries and fell unconscious after coming in contact with a mysterious shining object. Another person from a neighbouring shop was also affected.
While the six remain under treatment, a seventh person, a 28-year-old resident of Mayapuri area, was admitted to AIIMS after showing symptoms of nausea and headache. The youth, Bablu, has shown "minor symptoms of radiation exposure," a doctor with the AIIMS said. Deepak Jain, the scrap dealer who suffered serious burn injuries, is admitted at the Apollo Hospital while the other five remain at AIIMS. The condition of one of them is serious.
"Rajinder (35) has shown no signs of improvement. He continues to have severe low WBC and platelet counts. He has been transfused six units of platelets," a doctor said.
The other four -- Ram Kalap (33), Gaurav (19), Himanshu Jain (20) and Ramji Yadav (28) are slightly better, he said. Dr Randeep Guleria, professor of medicine, AIIMS, said, "These patients will not recover immediately. Their condition will fluctuate. It all depends on the amount of time they were exposed to (radiation)."
All victims of radiation are under close monitoring by a team of experts from the Departments of Medicine, Medical Oncology, Radiological Oncology and Haematology under the overall coordination of Dr A B Dey. Police remained clueless about the origin of radioactive material Cobalt-60 recovered from the scrap shop last week. Investigators are yet to receive any report from Department of Atomic Energy regarding it.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (West) Sharad Aggarwal said they were yet to make any headway in the probe as investigators could not speak to Jain, who is in the isolation ward of the Apollo Hospital.
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