Radioactive dump found near Congo river

Almost 20 tons of unidentified radioactive material have been found dumped in a river in southern Congo.

It was discovered in Likasi, near the village of Shinkolobwe, which provided the uranium used by the United States in the atomic bombs it dropped on Japan at the end of the Second World War.

Although the main mine shaft at Shinkolobwe was filled with concrete and closed in 1960, uranium is still found in the area and thousands of local diggers have continued working despite a presidential decree again ordering it shut several years ago.

Experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency have played down the dangers of the uranium at Shinkolobwe, saying that enriching the relatively small amounts of uranium found in the surrounding soil at the site to weapons-grade material would be a long and extraordinarily sophisticated process.

Environment Minister Didace Pembe said he did not yet know who was behind the dumping, but suggested that one of the region’s many mining enterprises were likely involved. The area is rich in cobalt, copper and uranium.

Mr Pembe said an investigation had been opened into the dumping, and he had no details.

“We must verify this. There has been a lot of speculation,” he said.