Egyptian health ministry: Radioactive material is from imported equipement

A report issued by the preventive medical research team in the Egyptian health ministry revealed that the radioactive material which caused the events of Meet Halfa village in Egypt is a piece equipment imported under the license No 104 in December 8 1999 and was released last February the 1st and has Iridium 192 as the active material.

The radioactive material has caused death in a family that found and kept at their house the material thinking it was a precious metal.

Informed sources in the health ministry said that "the machine was imported by a private sector company that has its headquarters in Nasr City (a housing area inside Cairo) to be used for soldering, and that it was not waste material from abroad as has been stated before."

The sources said that this information is from the equipment's specifications in the executive bureau of the office of radiation protection in the health ministry where such equipment is registered.