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RANCHI, India - Police in the eastern Indian state of Jharkhand are hunting for a container packed with highly radioactive material stolen from a research facility, officials said today.
"It carries uranium, and radiation could have an adverse effect in an area of 1.5 kilometres," Jharkhand Chief Minister Madhu Khoda warned.
Khoda said the "uranium-filled analyser" went missing earlier this month after being moved to a site near the densely-populated town of Rajrappa from a federal atomic facility near Mumbai.
Officials have not said to what degree the uranium was enriched to. Police said they were tipped off about the theft on December 4.
Jharkhand is the only Indian state that produces uranium, but New Delhi says it is not economically viable to use the low-yield product to generate nuclear energy on a commercial scale.
The United States and India this month signed a landmark atomic energy deal to give India access to western technology and nuclear fuel, despite warnings from critics that demand tighter security measures to prevent proliferation.
- AFP
