VietNamNet Bridge –All radioactive devices in the city will be tracked and managed by the Department of Science and Technology via Global Positioning System devices from the end of next month.

Le Manh Ha, vice chairman of the HCMC government, said last week that the project will be carried out by the science department and the Integrated Circuit Design Research and Education Center (ICDREC) under the Vietnam National University in HCMC.

Ngo Duc Hoang, director of ICDREC, said the center will manufacture a positioning device based on GPS technology similar to black boxes fitted on vehicles. The device will use a Vietnam-made chip, named SG8V1, and have a vibration sensor and a battery with one-year life.

Price of the device is expected to cost more than VND4 million, and the annual management fee will be VND800,000. Capital for installation will come from the city’s budget.

Statistics from the science department showed that the city now has over 400 devices that have radioactive substances among the total 1,200 in the country, which are mainly used in sectors of industry, health, and scientific study.

Earlier, a company in District 3 had lost a machine containing a sealed radioactive source, and it took the city police six days to find the source.

SGT/VNN