Missing 'bracelet' sets safety alarm bells ringing(4)

A radiation monitoring vehicle ion patrol at a site in Nanjing. Provided to China Daily

A short history of radioactivity-related incidents

In 1954, China had its first accident involving radioactive material. From 1954 to 1987, human error, including poor management and lack of professional expertise, caused 84.64 percent of such accidents, according to Fan Shengen, an expert on radiation prevention with the health ministry. Other factors, including technical faults, accounted for less than 20 percent.

In 1986, China had 70 incidents, but from 1988 to 1998, there were 332 involving 966 people, and 584 sources of radioactivity were lost - 256 of them were not recovered - according to the Case Compilation of China's Radiological Accidents 1988-1998, compiled in 2001 by the ministries of health and public security.

In the 1990s, China had 40 times as many incidents as the United States.

In 2004, a survey launched by the environmental and health authorities and the Public Security Bureau found that more than 10,000 agencies across China possessed more than 140,000 sources of radioactivity. The survey also discovered that more than 2,000 sources had gone missing, and the number of sources was growing at an annual rate of 5 to 10 percent.

From 1954 to 2007, 10 people died because of radiation emitted by radioactive sources and in industries in which nuclear techniques were used; 49 people suffered radiation sickness and 16 suffered burns to the skin, according to Liu Senlin, a researcher at the China Institute of Atomic Energy.

From 1954 to 2007, two people suffered radiation sickness after nuclear tests and 52 suffered burns to the skin. No one died or got radiation sickness in the nuclear military industry or nuclear plants.