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Seven arrested in DR Congo radioactive waste dumping probe
Kinshasa (AFP) Nov 9, 2007 Police have arrested seven people, including law enforcement officers, over the pouring of radioactive mineral waste into a river in the southeast DR Congo, Environment Minister Didace Pembe said Friday. "Seven people suspected of involvement in dumping ore are currently being questioned by police," Pembe told AFP. He was speaking after returning to Kinshasa from an inspection in the Democratic Republic of Congo's copper-rich Katanga province. He said the offence last month concerned some of a batch of almost 19 tonnes of copper ore containing uranium samples with a radioactivity level 50 times over the safe legal standard. While it had been due for disposal at a safe site, "part of these ores were poured into the Mura river and dumped elsewhere in the area," he said. Most of the ore was registered in the name of Chinese firm Magma and a part of it in those of an Indian company, Chemaf, and a Congolese mediator. Legal sources said that police from the mining sector's anti-fraud squad and a prosecutor were among those arrested. They were among those who had been responsible for the safe transfer of the waste, said Pembe. The illegal dumping of the radioactive waste threatened the drinking water for some of the 300,000 residents of the city of Lukasi, where one of the pumping stations uses Mura river water, said Pembe. "The people of Likasi must for no reason use or consume water from this station," he added. Investigators were searching for the rest of the ore, as the dumped material already discovered did not account for the total 19 tonnes. The copper itself from a mine at Kolwezi near Likassi was thought to been bought from artisanal miners. Uranium as such has not been mined since the early 1960s and the country's independence, but the DRC is rich in the mineral and the president's office is currently considering prospection and production regulations. Community Email This Article Comment On This Article Related Links Civil Nuclear Energy Science, Technology and News Powering The World in the 21st Century at Energy-Daily.com
DR Congo probes radioactive dumping from Chinese companies
Kinshasa (AFP) Nov 7, 2007Authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo have opened a probe after nearly 18 tonnes of radioactive minerals from primarily Chinese-owned mines were dumped in a river, officials said Wednesday. |
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