Imported scrap to be checked for radioactive elements

NEW DELHI: The government is expected to soon make it mandatory for all steel scrap being imported into the country to be certified as being free of radioactive elements by designated international agencies.

The step is being taken following complaints from European countries, especially Germany, of radioactive contaminants being detected in engineering goods exported by India. The directorate general of foreign trade, a body under the commerce department regulating all activities related to exports and imports, will issue the necessary notification soon, a government official said.

India is apprehensive that steel scrap contaminated with radioactive elements is finding its way into the country and is being used to make a variety of steel products including engineering goods.

Since Indian ports do not have the necessary infrastructure to check for radioactive elements in steel scraps being imported, the government has decided that it will not accept any steel scrap consignment which has not been certified as being free of such substances by international agencies designated by it.

“We have yet to finalise the international agencies from where suppliers of steel scrap to India have to get their certificates. It will all form part of the DGFT notification,” an official said. India is a major importer of steel scrap and imports about 7-8 million of scrap every year from countries including the US, the EU and the CIS countries.

Europe is an important market for India’s engineering exports with the region sourcing about $20 billion worth of engineering goods like various machinery parts and auto engine parts. With the contraction in world demand owing to the global economic crisis, India wants to ensure that it does not lose its existing markets due to avoidable reasons, the official added.

Source: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/