A piece of equipment containing radioactive material was installed with the first tracking device in southern Ba Ria-Vung Tau province on April 17.

The equipment is one of 124 mobile devices containing radioactive material under the management of neighbouring Ho Chi Minh City. It is being used in Ba Ria-Vung Tau’s Vung Tau city.

The newly installed locating device was made by the Integrated Circuit Design Research and Education Centre (ICDREC) and is managed by software designed by the Research Laboratories of Saigon Hi-tech Park.

If the radioactive material is stationary, the positioning device will send information on its radioactive concentration and location to the ICDREC every 10 hours.

Once shifted or moved, the device will begin to report its concentration and location every 10 minutes.

It will also immediately notify the ICDREC if the tracking unit is disconnected from the radioactive material, this centre said, adding that its battery lasts for about one year.

The installation was carried out at the Apave Asia-Pacific Company in Vung Tau in the wake of several missing radioactive devices.

On September 15, 2014, the Apave Company’s HCM City branch lost its radioactive device which was later found after four days.

Earlier this month, the municipal authorities instructed specialised agencies to quickly install positioning devices on equipment containing radioactive material.

The city’s Department of Science and Technology and the ICDREC were designated to carry out the work.

VNA