[Reader-list] Delhi university and its radioactive possessions

[A.K. Malik]

Hi Mr Kaul,
           I received this message late and had already posted my comments for anti-DU or pro-DU in a lighter vein.At least there seems to be at least TWO anti -DUs on this forum.
Regards,

(A.K.MALIK)


--- On Thu, 5/6/10, Kshmendra Kaul <kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com> wrote:

> From: Kshmendra Kaul <kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com>
> Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Delhi university and its radioactive possessions
> To: "sarai list" <reader-list at sarai.net>, "Yousuf" <ysaeed7 at yahoo.com>
> Date: Thursday, May 6, 2010, 2:11 PM
> Dear Yousuf
>  
> Apologies for the earlier response (which was not directed
> at you). I was bristling because of two recent nonsensical
> comments addressed to/towards me.
>  
> It is not enough to comment upon the callousness of DU's
> Chemistry Department.
>  
> As you have pointed, a life has been lost and many are
> suffering serious reactions because of the exposure to the
> Cobalt 60. It is shocking, it is disgusting that there does
> not seem to be any attempt this far in making people in DU
> accountable for this. 
>  
> It also brings up the question of what systems are in place
> in Institutions (Research and Medical) to protect the usage
> and disposal of radioactive material. There would
> be hundreds of such institutions. (Top of the head
> estimate).
>  
> The larger issue is of India's seriousness and ability
> to ensure that the protections needed are systemised
> through monitored SOPs.
>  
> One also wonders how many such deaths might have taken
> place because of similar exposure to radioactive material,
> the cause for which simply escaped being identified because
> those who died were impoverished and their deaths would not
> have been properly investigated.
>  
> Kshmendra 
> 
> --- On Thu, 5/6/10, Yousuf <ysaeed7 at yahoo.com>
> wrote:
> 
> 
> From: Yousuf <ysaeed7 at yahoo.com>
> Subject: [Reader-list] Delhi university and its radioactive
> possessions
> To: "sarai list" <reader-list at sarai.net>
> Date: Thursday, May 6, 2010, 9:17 AM
> 
> 
> I am amazed that this forum is silent so far about the
> callousness of DU's chemistry department in selling
> radioactive material in scrap which led to the death of one
> person and serious injury of several in Delhi. And how could
> the university officials remain silent for 20 days when
> people suffered and the police was going crazy trying find
> out where the material came from. I wonder what else is
> there in store for us.
> 
> ==== 
> 
> All radioactive sources of varsity irradiator accounted
> for: AERB
> R. Ramachandran
> 
> The Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) has identified
> and accounted for all the cobalt-60 radioactive sources
> originally present in the gamma cell irradiator of the
> Chemistry Department of Delhi University.
> 
> Stating this in a pres release here on Wednesday, the AERB
> said that the sources would continue to remain in the safe
> custody of the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE).
> 
> It would be recalled that the irradiator, supplied by the
> Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd. (AECL) in 1968, had been in
> disuse since 1985 and was auctioned away to scrap dealers on
> February 26. This had found its way to the metal scrap
> market of Mayapuri in West Delhi. Without realising that
> there was a radioactive source in the scrap, two Mayapuri
> shops where the scrap had finally landed dismantled the
> equipment and cut open the irradiator into several pieces.
> This resulted in the people directly involved in the
> operation and handling the pieces to high doses of
> radiation. This caused severe radiation poisoning of seven
> people engaged in the scrap metal business one of whom has
> since died. The other six continue to battle for life –
> one at Apollo Hospitals and the rest at the All India
> Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi.
> 
> Following a complete survey of the market, officials of the
> AERB and the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA)
> stated that they located 11 radioactive sources in all —
> eight from one shop, two from another and one from an
> individual who was in its possession. Given the badly
> mangled state of the irradiator and its pieces, it was not
> clear then whether the 11 sources were all separate sources
> or were pieces of a single source. These radioactive
> materials were moved from Mayapuri in mid-April to the
> Narora Atomic Power Station (NAPS) in U. P.
> 
> Detailed inspections of the materials recovered were
> carried out by the AERB officials at NAPS on May 3 and 4
> following which the statement was issued. The statement
> clarifies that all the pieces originated from this single
> Delhi University gamma irradiator's Co-60 source. This also
> makes it clear that reports appearing in the media about
> ‘missing radioactive pencils' and the ‘source trail
> leading to Rewari (in Haryana)' were incorrect.
> 
> According to S. K. Malhotra of the DAE, the reconstruction
> was made possible by the details of the original device that
> was supplied to the university in 1968, which the AERB
> managed to obtain from the AECL. Apparently the AECL
> responded to the query with great efficiency and supplied
> the details of the sale 42 years ago within a couple of
> hours. Mr. Malhotra also confirmed the initial activity of
> the source was over 3,000 curies (Ci). After 42 years, or 8
> half-life periods of Co-60, the activity would have dropped
> by a factor of 2 to the power of 8, or 256, only. (One curie
> stands for 37 billion radioactive decays/sec.)
> 
> According to the details provided by the AECL, the source
> chamber had provision for 54 pencils of Co-60 of which only
> 16 were occupied at the time of supply based on the
> requirements specified by the user. Each cylindrical pencil
> is made of 7 ‘slugs' or pieces of Co-60, each measuring
> about 2.5 cm x 0.6 cm stacked together and all the pencils
> constitute a unit that can be placed around any material to
> be irradiated with gamma rays. The AERB claimed that they
> were able to account for all the 112 slugs of the 16-pencil
> Co-60 source unit.
> Probe demanded
> 
> In a related development, the Delhi University teachers'
> Association (DUTA) has demanded an impartial enquiry by the
> President of India, who is the Visitor of the university,
> into the callous disposal of the Co-60 source to scrap
> dealers. In particular, the DUTA has called for a enquiry
> into the constitution by the vice-chancellor of the
> committee that authorised its disposal and into the
> inexplicable silence on the part of the university
> authorities for as long as 20 days when the Delhi police and
> the AERB were groping in darkness to hunt down the origin of
> the radioactive material. “In this context, the speedy
> work by the Delhi Police in tracking down the origin to the
> Chemistry Department of Delhi University needs to be
> commended, it said.
> 
> http://beta.thehindu.com/news/national/article422833.ece
> 
> 
>       
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>       
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