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Radiation Detectors Sit Unused in Vienna Airport
Experts have warned that radioactive materials could be smuggled into Vienna’s Schwechat airport because detection equipment is going unused, the Kurier newspaper reported Monday (see GSN, July 20). Austrian customs authorities in the airport do not check passengers or air freight for radioactive materials, according to the newspaper. A radiation detector at the airport has not been used since being tested one year ago. Radioactive iodine used to threat thyroid ailments was setting off the machine, said Josef Pammer, deputy customs chief at Schwechat. “In cases of alarm, we would have to immediately close the doors, and check out each individual passenger,” Pammer said. “This would lead to panic. The radiation detectors are unfortunately not yet sufficiently developed to enable them to distinguish between innocuous and dangerous radiation.” A radiation expert with the Lower Austrian Fire Brigade disagreed. “That is not correct,” the expert said. “With border monitoring, more harmless radioactive elements can very readily be distinguished from uranium or plutonium. Even within seconds.” Pammer dismissed this criticism. “The EU has long been tinkering with a workable law for monitoring radiation,” he said. “It would make more sense, however, to check freight and passengers on takeoff, rather than waiting till landing. The goal must be to prevent the export of radioactive substances” (Kurier/BBC Monitoring, Sept. 6).
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