A piece of equipment containing radioactive material was installed withthe first tracking device in southern Ba Ria-Vung Tau province on April17.

The equipment is one of 124 mobile devicescontaining radioactive material under the management of neighbouring HoChi 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 CircuitDesign Research and Education Centre (ICDREC) and is managed bysoftware designed by the Research Laboratories of Saigon Hi-tech Park.

If the radioactive material is stationary, thepositioning device will send information on its radioactiveconcentration 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 isdisconnected from the radioactive material, this centre said, addingthat its battery lasts for about one year.

Theinstallation was carried out at the Apave Asia-Pacific Company in VungTau in the wake of several missing radioactive devices.

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

Earlier this month, the municipal authorities instructed specialisedagencies to quickly install positioning devices on equipment containingradioactive material.

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