Port workers at the Israeli Port of Ashdod were evacuated Monday after emergency teams discovered radiation emanating from a shipping container, according to a local media report.
Israel’s Environmental Protection Ministry said that the workers were evacuated as a precaution, saying that the subsequent investigation showed that the radioactive container posed no threat to people in the area.
Local Fire and Rescue Services teams were dispatched to classify the radioactive material, but it is yet unknown what exactly caused the radiation. According to a local TV station, the radioactive container arrived on a China-flagged ship.
“At the instruction of the Environmental Protection Ministry, the container was transferred to an insulated area at the Ashdod Port,” the ministry said in a statement.
“There is no risk to the public.”
The operations at the Ashdod Port returned to normal once the emergency teams had finished their investigation.
World Maritime News Staff