The government said Friday that it will sanction a state-run atomic research institute for losing uranium samples that may have been incinerated by mistake.
The Ministry of Science and Technology said firm administrative action will be taken against the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) and its supervisors for mishandling the radioactive material.
The two kilograms of uranium reported missing Thursday were kept as evidence in an unauthorized uranium enrichment experiment conducted by local scientists in the past. Included in the samples were 0.2 grams of 10 percent enriched uranium, 0.8 grams of depleted uranium, and some natural uranium.
KAERI had been holding the uranium in a special copper container that may have been destroyed with ordinary trash.
"An investigation is underway to find out exactly what happened to the uranium samples," said a ministry official. He said the samples were probably classified as industrial trash in May and handed over to a waste disposal company for incineration.
KAERI said it recently recovered the copper container and is trying to find remnants of the uranium samples in a landfill in Gyeonggi province.
Experts said that because of its small size, the material does not poise any serious danger to the environment.
He added that because the missing samples had already been checked by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), their loss would not seriously affect the country's position on maintaining a clear and transparent nuclear energy program.
KAERI was inspected by the IAEA in 2004 after admitting that its scientists had in 1982 and 2000 extracted or enriched small amounts of plutonium and uranium, two key ingredients for making nuclear weapons. It said the experiments were conducted without government approval and that the IAEA had cleared the South Korean facility of clandestine nuclear development charges.
"Seoul plans to keep the IAEA fully appraised of the mishap and submit a report on the details of its investigations once they are completed," a ministry official said.
He said the incident could tarnish the country's sterling reputation in nuclear safety, but should not be a real setback if appropriate countermeasures are taken and tough punishment meted out to those responsible.
(Yonhap)