Over the past several decades, the scrap metal industry has been working hard to screen out radioactive contaminated material.  Much of that came from decommissioned nuclear reactors that were sold into the recycled metals pipeline.  Radiation detection protocols were implemented in most of the industrialized world.  Everything from proximity scanners to hand held Geiger counters were used to block anything above ca. 80 uSv/hr.

That’s why it’s so troubling that in just the past months alarms have gone off all over India as significant amount of radioactive metals have found their way into the supply chain.  Hot metal is showing up not only at scrap dealers, but at foundries that process the materials, and as well as downstream metal processors.  Indeed, at Gamma-Scout we’ve seen a significant spike in Geiger counter purchases from the Indian market as well as increased interest in radiation measurement applications from customer as far away as Argentina.

This is just another example of some of the hazards that exist in the global metals trade where oversight is inconsistent and effective screening does not always reach back to source stocks.  It’s not so easy in the recycling business these days - with a global recession already slashing demand for metal, this is an industry that doesn’t need any more bad news.