PTI reported that the India government is likely to come out with a directive soon for scrap importers to get their consignments certified that they do not carry any radioactive material. The directive will be issued by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade insisting that scrap imports be subject to the stiff test against the risk of radioactive materials. A Commerce Ministry official said that “We will now prescribe a condition for import of scrap that it shall be free from radioactive material.”
Official said that a recognized inspection agency would have to certify that the scrap being imported is not contaminated. Certain steel consignments, processed out of imported scrap, to Germany were found to be radio-active contaminated following which the g government has taken a serious view on the matter. The Engineering Export Promotion Council has asked the government to install scanners in ports to keep a check on imported materials with radio active elements. Mr Suranjan Gupta ED of EEPC said that “This is a serious problem and if it is not looked into, other countries can use it as an excuse to block imports from India.”
