A radioactive substance has fled to the Outokumpu plant in Torneå

The fourth and last case occurred on Friday, October 12, but the radiation source was detected before the merger. Radiation monitoring and appropriate plant protection measures have helped prevent the spread of radioactive substances outside the factory.

"It's serious"

Factory workers were not exposed to radiation, but they had to use respiratory protection.

– It is always serious when the radioactive substances disappear. Potential health risks were limited to the factory area, but through appropriate radiation protection measures, personal and environmental exposure was avoided, Tommi Toivonen said in a press release.

Toivonen is the director of the Radiation Surveillance Authority at the Radiation Protection Center,

Hitting with multiple cases in the same factory

Americium is a radioactive element used, for example, in meteorometers and industrial measuring instruments. Sources that eventually melt have a strength of about 1 to 2 gigabecquerel.

The Finnish Radiation Protection Authority has informed other authorities and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to determine the sources of radiation.

In the recycling of metals there are sometimes lost radiation sources – poorly handled radiation sources – but the Finnish Radiation Protection Authority finds it exceptional that several cases occur in a single plant over a short period of time. period.