ASIA / PACIFIC April 3, 2023 THE ASIAN REPORTER n Page 3 Thai officials trace missing radioactive cylinder to foundry By Kaweewit Kaewjinda The Associated Press ANGKOK — Thai officials say they have traced to a recycling foundry a metal cylinder with radioactive contents that was discovered missing from a power plant, but advised that there appeared to be no public health hazard. The 12-inch-long cylinder containing the radioactive material Caesium-137 was reported missing on March 10 from a piece of machinery at a steam power plant in Prachinburi province, 102 miles east of Bangkok. Prachinburi governor Narong Nakhonchinda said that traces of Caesium-137 were detected the following Sunday in bags of furnace dust that was a byproduct of the smelting process at the foundry, which is about 6 miles from the power plant. He said the furnace used for the process was a closed system, so radioactive particles could not escape from it. Work at the plant was ordered halted and employees and nearby residents given health checks. Health officials said medical records for the past month for all hospitals in the province would be checked to see if any patients had showed symptoms possibly caused by exposure to radiation. Prolonged direct contact with radioactive material can cause skin rashes, hair loss, canker sores, fatigue, and vomiting. Short-term contact with Caesium-137 may not show immediate symptoms but could lead to a higher risk of cancer. Permsuk Sutchaphiwat, secretary-general of the Office of Atoms for Peace, Thailand’s nuclear research agency, said the metal extracted in processing would not become radioactive because the Caesium-137 would separate from the steel due to the high temperatures used in the process. However, traces of it can still be found in the furnace. B HOLY MONTH MARKED. A man looks at members of the Malay- sian Islamic authority as they perform the “Rukyah Hilal Ramadan,” the sighting of the new moon to determine the start of the holy fasting month of Ramadan, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on March 22, 2023. During Ramadan, Muslims worldwide mark the holy month by fasting and abstaining from foods, sex, and smoking from dawn to dusk. (AP Photo/ Vincent Thian) Muslims in Asia mark holy month of Ramadan JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Millions of faithful in the world’s most-populous Muslim-majority country began marking the holy month of Ramadan last month with fasting and prayers. Religious affairs minister Yaqut Cholil Qoumas declared that Islamic astronomy observer teams from several of the country’s regions had sighted the crescent moon, the official start of Ramadan. Shortly after, worshippers flooded mosques to offer evening prayers. Muslim authorities in Saudi Arabia and several other Middle Eastern countries also said Ramadan in their region began, based on the sighting of the crescent moon. During Ramadan, Muslims refrain from eating, drinking, smoking, and sexual intercourse from sunrise until sunset. Even a tiny sip of water or a puff of smoke is enough to invalidate the fast. At night, family and friends gather and feast in a festive atmosphere. The fasting is aimed at bringing the faithful closer to god and reminding them of the suffering of the poor. Muslims are expected to strictly observe daily prayers and engage in heightened religious contemplation. They are also urged to refrain from gossip, fighting, or cursing during the holy month. Fasting is one of the five pillars of Islam and is required for all healthy Muslims. There are exemptions for those who are ill, and for women who are pregnant or breastfeeding. Small children are not expected to fast. Islam follows a lunar calendar, so Ramadan begins around a week and a half earlier each year. At the end of Ramadan, Muslims celebrate the joyous Eid al-Fitr holiday, when children often receive new clothes and gifts. SPiLt ink Gallery Acrylic Colour Pencil Graphite Oil Pen & Ink Watercolour The missing 55-pound cylinder was connected to a 56-foot-tall silo at the power plant and used for measuring ash content. Police say they suspect the cylinder had been stolen for sale as scrap. In 2000, illegally disposed canisters containing the radioactive substance Cobalt-60 were found in a junkyard in Samut Prakarn, a suburb of Bangkok. At least five people were hospitalized after being exposed to radiation when the canisters were opened by the scrapyard workers, unaware of the hazard. The cylinders were believed to have come from a medical x-ray machine. 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