Customs seize half a tonne of radioactive sanitary towels at airport

Half a tonne of radioactive sanitary towels were discovered by customs officials at Lebanon airport.

Officials said 545 kilogrammes of the sanitary towels were confiscated and 30 cartons of the pads will be sent to the Lebanese Atomic Energy Agency for checks before they are returned to the exporter.

Reuters reports that Lebanon's Ministry of Finance declined to name the company that made the sanitary towels or the name of the substance.

They did not confirm the level of radioactivity detected at Beirut's Rafik Hariri International airport.

A statement gave no details about whether authorities suspected criminal wrongdoing, AP reports.

An airport official said the pads were send to Lebanon from China via Dubai.

In 2013, more than 200,000 toy dolls arriving from China were seized by US customs.

The dolls were found to contain high levels of phthalates, a group of banned chemical compounds.

Officials said they were seized as they presented a safety risk to the American public, especially children.