A 23kg Radioactive Dispersal Device (RDD) has been missing in Malaysia since Aug. 10.

The RDD contains the isotope Iridium- 192, which can be used as a radioactive material in dirty bombs. 

According to an exclusive report by The New Straits Times (NST), the radioactive material is kept in a lead-shielded casing.

The NST also reported that the RDD is valued at RM 75,000 and weighs 23kg.

It belongs to a company which offers test, calibration, and inspection services to the various industries. Commercially, Iridium-192 is most commonly used as a gamma ray source in industrial radiography to locate flaws in metal components.

Possibly lost en route from Seremban to Shah Alam

The RDD was originally loaded onto a pick up truck on Aug. 10 by two company employees. The truck then travelled from Seremban to the company office at Shah Alam for about one hour.

Upon reaching the office, the employees realised that the tailgate of the truck was lowered, with the device nowhere in sight. The employees retraced their route to the Senawang Toll Plaza but could not locate the device.

Reports were lodged with the Atomic Energy Licensing Board (AELB) and the police. Both employees were remanded by the police on Aug. 11 before being released on Aug. 17 as no criminal elements were linked to them.

Concern about accidental mass exposure

According to NST, the AELB had no leads on the missing RDD as of Aug. 19.

Apart from the very real possibility that the RDD was stolen by a terror group for a dirty bomb, the AELB also expressed concern that the device might have been picked up by an unsuspecting person who could dismantle it for scrap metal, thus inadvertently causing mass exposure to the Iridium-192.

[related_story]

"We appeal to those in possession of it to contact the police or AELB. Do not open it....It cannot fall into the wrong hands as the consequences can be deadly," said an AELB source to NST.

This isn't the first time radioactive material went missing in Malaysia: