Kenyans have been warned that vehicles and food items entering the country from Japan and Ukraine may have been exposed to radiation, which experts say could be behind the increased cases of cancer.
A parliamentary committee heard that most of the vehicles and food items coming from the two countries, which have been hit by nuclear leaks, were not inspected upon entry into Kenya.
The shocking revelations were made yesterday by the Radiation Protection Board (RPB) when its officials appeared before the Public Investments Committee (PIC). RPB conducts personal radiation monitoring services, and its monitors are used in the medical, dentistry and industrial sectors to track exposure to ionised radiation.
However, even as the country faces the looming spectre of cancer-related attacks, two State bodies expected to fight the vice—Kenya Bureau of Standards and the RPB—were busy fighting over control of the sector.
Board chief executive Joel Kamande stunned the committee when he revealed that two containers loaded with radiation-contaminated milk were recently sent back to the Ukraine. If the milk has entered the market it would have been a disaster considering the huge deposits of radiation in it.
“Going by the current circumstances, I cannot vouch for the security of Kenyans, what with many vehicles and products entering the country without being inspected,” Kamande told a bewildered committee, compelling chairman Adan Keynan to suggest that the matter be declared a national disaster.
Many vehicles shipped in from Japan were found to have been exposed to radiation, raising fears that cancer related ailments were likely to be reported. “We have sent back vehicles destined for the local market and Tanzania in the recent past and the trend does not seem to be ending,” Kamande added.
RPB, which is mandated to inspect and license other players in the industry, is grossly understaffed, with only 25 experts. “With at least 2,000 vehicles entering into the country, the board had no capacity to handle the huge volumes,” Kamande lamented.
Five years ago the Japanese city of Fukushima was hit by radioactive water leaks at the Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear plant, whose effects have not been contained to date. In 2011, an earthquake and tsunami knocked off power to the plant’s cooling systems, sending three of its reactors into meltdown, hence releasing more radioactive materials into the atmosphere.
In Ukraine, the Chernobyl disaster, also referred to as the Chernobyl accident or simply Chernobyl, was a catastrophic nuclear accident that occurred on 26 April 1986 at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in the city of Pripyat. An explosion and fire released large quantities of radioactive particles into the atmosphere, which spread over much of the western USSR and Europe.
Kamande, a radiation physics expert, and Limuru MP Chege Kiragu, himself an expert in the field, warned that the country is in serious danger of radiation-contaminated imported products. “There are very many points of entry but sadly we have erected machinery and experts only at the Kilindini harbour,” Kamande said.
Kiragu cautioned that majority of equipment in hospitals, including X-ray machines contained radio isotopes, which are not inspected since the country does not have personnel to do the work. Kamande further astounded the committee when he said that a Japanese firm, which inspects vehicles imported from Japan, was not licensed.
“We did not issue a licence to the Quality Inspection Service which was allowed by KEBS to inspect vehicles entering Kenya,” said Kamande. The board went ahead to write to KEBS management demanding to know why it was usurping its roles but no response has been forthcoming.
“We are the only mandated body by law to issue Letters of Compliance to companies applying to do to the inspection work,” said Kamande. He said the board was not taking the matter lightly, and called for more facilitation to his board in order to fully equip itself with the necessary equipment.
The post Agency raises red flag over toxic imports appeared first on Mediamax Network Limited.