Re: [ RadSafe ] “Dirty Bomb” Material in Use Across Canada

[John R Johnson]

Clayton

There is also a lot of "Dirty Bomb" material in the Canadian "Oil Patch" and 
in Texas, etc. Look for a "soon to be published" HPS ANSI report.

John
***************
John R Johnson, PhD
CEO, IDIAS, Inc.
4535 West 9th Ave
Vancouver, B. C.
V6R 2E2, Canada
idias at interchange.ubc.ca

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Clayton J Bradt" <cjb01 at health.state.ny.us>
To: <radsafe at radlab.nl>
Sent: Tuesday, March 04, 2008 1:51 PM
Subject: [ RadSafe ] “Dirty Bomb” Material in Use Across Canada


>
>
> “Dirty Bomb” Material in Use Across Canada
> Irradiation devices containing what a U.S. study called a potential
> radiological “dirty bomb” ingredient remain in use in nearly 100 Canadian
> hospitals, universities and blood banks, the Canwest News Service reported
> Friday (see GSN, Feb. 21).
> The machines contain cesium chloride, a “highly dispersible” form of
> radioactive cesium 137, according to a February report by the U.S. 
> National
> Research Council. The National Academy of Sciences body has called for the
> devices to “be replaced in the United States and, to the extent possible,
> elsewhere.”
> Uses for the devices include irradiating blood prior to transfusion. 
> Canada
> currently has 94 of the devices in use, the Canadian Nuclear Safety
> Commission told Canwest. The board said it monitors the “sealed sources” 
> of
> cesium chloride in the machines on a “cradle-to-grave” basis, tracking
> “where they are located and when they are transferred between locations.”
> Natural Resources Canada said it plans this week to respond to the U.S.
> report’s call to replace the machines.
> MDS Nordion, a top Canadian nuclear medicine firm, has sold about 400
> cesium chloride irradiators in the United States, the U.S. study says. The
> company said it has sold 65 of the machines in Canada (Randy Boswell,
> Canwest News Service, Feb. 29).
> *******************************************************
> Wisely, Nordion also markets X-ray based blood irradiators.
>
> Clayton J. Bradt
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