[ RadSafe ] Illinois Hospital Loses Radioactive Material

[Franz Schönhofer]

Dear Emilio,

I really appreciate your comment and even more your declaration of being a
"math student". Sometimes it seems that RADSAFE should go back and learn
from students! Be careful with interpretation, I wrote "sometimes"......

Your statement might be true in many cases, but certainly not in all,
especially if the sources are left in remote and unaccessible areas. Do not
forget the half-life of the radionuclides used in them. 

Of course I remember "Goiana", especially since I had the pleasure to meet
the person in charge of the counteractions personally. He has posted
frequently to RADSAFE about this incident. 

Best regards,

Franz

Franz Schoenhofer, PhD
MinRat i.R.
Habicherg. 31/7
A-1160 Wien/Vienna
AUSTRIA


-----Ursprüngliche Nachricht-----
Von: radsafe-bounces at health.phys.iit.edu
[mailto:radsafe-bounces at health.phys.iit.edu] Im Auftrag von Emilio Martinez
Gesendet: Freitag, 23. Juli 2010 21:52
An: Garner, William H; radsafe at health.phys.iit.edu
Betreff: Re: [ RadSafe ] Illinois Hospital Loses Radioactive Material

Any radiation source not properly taken care of is bound to result in health

hazards.
Do you remember of Goiania?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goi%C3%A2nia_accident


Emilio M.
Math student





________________________________
De: "Garner, William H" <whgarn2 at email.uky.edu>
Para: "radsafe at health.phys.iit.edu" <radsafe at health.phys.iit.edu>
Enviado: viernes, 23 de julio, 2010 5:19:13
Asunto: [ RadSafe ] Illinois Hospital Loses Radioactive Material

Illinois Hospital Loses Radioactive Material
Thursday, July 22, 2010

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Authorities are probing how a safe that held radioactive material vanished
from 
a storage space at an Illinois hospital, the Chicago Tribune reported
yesterday 
(see GSN<http://gsn.nti.org/gsn/nw_20100706_8459.php>, July 6).

The lead-lined safe at the Riverside Medical Center in Kankakee was not
located 
when construction workers finished a demolition job at the medical center on

July 13, said Illinois Emergency Management Agency official Gibb Vinson. 
Authorities believe work teams could have unintentionally included the safe
in 
refuse bound for a local landfill.

Vinson said thieves are not thought to have taken the secured container,
though 
the incident remains under investigation.

In a report submitted to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,, the agency

said the safe held a limited number of tiny radioactive "seeds" that were 
employed to eradicate cancer cells.

So long as the seeds are kept in the safe they do not endanger public
safety, 
Vinson said. Direct exposure to the material, though, could cause
"significant" 
health repercussions, he said.

"As long as they remain in the safe, it's a relatively safe situation,"
Vinson 
said.

Authorities have informed local landfill managers of the situation and asked

them to use radiation detectors to search for the safe (Joel Hood, Chicago 
Tribune<http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2010-07-21/health/ct-met-0722-hos
pital-radioactive-mate20100721_1_radioactive-material-safe-handling-of-hazar
dous-materials>,
 July 21).



William H. Garner
University Of Kentucky
Radiation Safety Department
110 Dimock Animal Pathology
Lexington, KY  40506-0076
Office Phone (859)323-1009
UK Pager (859)330-6781
Fax   (859)323-4752
ü Please consider the environment before printing this email.

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