The main headline for this day was a flight scare which happened on board an Air France Paris Mumbai flight. Apparently the pilot heard a "thud" and decided to return back to paris, where they checked and found it to be a false alarm. The sensational bit was a radioactive cargo on board, 3 gms of a radioactive isotope called Yttrium-90 on its way to Tata Memorial Hospital at Wadala. The article then went into a long discourse about what Yttrium-90 is, what are its usages, percuations, etc etc. I, along with about 16 Lakh mumbaikars got empowered with the following useful daily tips on handling Yttrium.
a) Superconductor needles made of Yttrium- 90 can cut more precisely than scalpels and are used in surgery.b) Yttrium- 90 has to be stored behind lead and lucite (google tells me this is a trademarked organic chemical compound) shielding.
c) In case of exposure, Urine samples need to be quickly taken and analysed.
But perhaps the more interesting twist in the tale is only to be found in a related article on page 4. Once the flight landed back in Paris, Indian's amongst its passengers were apparently shoddily treated, and later they accused the airline of racism. As a build up to subsequent racist attacks on Indian students in Australia, the issue gained great prominance and was subsequently followed up prominantely by the national media!
Looking back, its just amazing what 3 gms of Yttrium-90 can do, isnt it?
Also, notable in the paper was this ad in first page. Like a corny tag line in a Yash Johar movie(It is all about loving your Family!) this ad. too had a masterpiece. It said, Vasista Rishi- It is all about knowing your life history- past, present, and future!
Nadi Shastra: Solutions for your problems in your thumb print
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