India News | Material Seized in Lucknow Last Month Not Californium: DAE

Mumbai, Jun 18 (PTI) The Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) on Friday clarified that a material confiscated in Lucknow last month on suspicion of being californium is not the radioactive element.

The material is of "natural origin", the city-based body said in a statement.

The Lucknow police had arrested eight people and claimed to have recovered 340 grams of material suspected to be californium from them on May 28.

"After inspection of the material and relevant laboratory analyses of the samples collected from the material, the DAE clarifies that the material is not Californium," the statement said.

This is the second time in quick succession that material suspected to be a radioactive element has been found not to be so.

Earlier this month, the DAE had clarified that a material confiscated in Bokaro on June 2 on suspicions of being uranium accused was not so.

However, in the case of a recovery from two people in the financial capital last month, it had confirmed that it was indeed natural uranium but downplayed its ability to cause harm.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)