CAIRO: The health and environment committee at the People's Assembly is investigating a factory in Kafr El-Zayat, Gharbeya, accused of emitting harmful radiation, according to Hamdy El-Sayyed, head of the committee. “A committee of representatives from the National Association of Atomic Energy, the Ministry of Environment and the radiology department of the faculty of science at Tanta University is currently investigating the case,” El- Sayyed, who is also the head of the Doctors' Syndicate, told Daily News Egypt. He added that two reports have been previously issued on the matter, one suggesting that the factory in question is producing harmful radiations and another denying such claims. The newly-formed committee is tasked with verifying the allegations made in the reports, according to El- Sayyed. He did not specify a time frame for the investigation. According to the report drafted by Tarek El-Nemr, a specialist in radioactive chemicals and a professor at Tanta University, the waste produced by the factory contains traces of radium, a chemical element that causes a wide range of illnesses including cancer. The counter report was issued by the National Association of Atomic Energy. According to a March 29 article published by online news portal Masrawy, members of the local council of Kafr El-Zayat condemned a decision by governor of Gharbeya Abdel Hamid El-Shinnawy, allowing the factory to re-open after it was presumably forced to shut down. Members of the local council claim that El-Shinnawy's decision was based on “fabricated” reports, referring to the National Association of Atomic Energy report. The factory is accused of dumping its waste into the Nile, which farmers use for irrigation. It is also accused of producing granular fertilizer, a product that is officially banned. According to Masrawy, residents of Kafr El-Zayat have repeatedly complained to El-Shinnawy and called upon Minister of State for Environmental Affairs Maged George to interfere. “We are waiting on the scientific facts. We are not going to act according to complaints,” El- Sayyed said.
