Export monitoring of beach sand minerals to be strengthened

"The design of radiation detection equipment has been checked for its efficacy in monitoring the radioactivity in beach sand minerals," Swapnesh Kumar Malhotra, Head, Public Awareness Division, Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), said.

He said the equipment has been manufactured by Electronics Corporation of India Ltd (ECIL) and progressive deliveries to sea ports are expected from 2013 onwards.

The radiation detection equipment (RDE) has been tested to readily detect any unacceptable level of monazite contamination, Malhotra said.

He said one of the additional technical measures being considered includes the automatic transmission of data from the RDE to a centralised facility.

Malhotra said DAE has already taken initiatives, along with Director General Foreign Trade and Customs Authorities, to maintain a strict vigil at exit points and strengthen sampling mechanism for monitoring the beach sand minerals in export consignments.

He refuted reports that DAE has flouted rules in opening the precious minerals for corporate sector keeping Parliament in the dark.

"The department respects the supremacy of Parliament and would not bypass it," Malhotra said.

He said beach sand mineral (ilmenite, rutile, leucoxene, zircon, sillimanite, garnet and monazite) processing facilities should get a licence from Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) for radiological safety.