BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — A manufacturer of medical radioactive substances says it was very likely a source of the increased radiation levels measured in Hungary in the past weeks.
Jozsef Kornyei, director of the Budapest-based Institute of Isotopes Co., said Thursday that they first noticed the heightened release of iodine-131, used in the treatment of thyroid disorders, during the first half of 2011.
Production restarted in September after new filters were installed, but the release of radioactive material stayed above normal, so the process was halted again this month.
Kornyei said it was "extremely unlikely" that their leak was the cause of trace levels of iodine-131 measured in the atmosphere of several European countries, first reported last week by the U.N. nuclear agency.
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