Re: Digging for lost materials

[joseph.greco@kodak.com]

Paul:  There was an article in the HPS Newsletter regarding a case at the
Univ. of Minnesota where they dug through 1600 tons of trash at local
landfill for 250 uCi each of P-32 and S-35 tossed out by mistake (the
researcher discarded the box without first removing the rad material).
After several nights of searching (6 pm to 6 am), two NRC violations, local
media "attention", and frostbite (this was Minnesota in February), they
never found the material.  Total cost presented to the University,
including charges from the disposal facility (waste had to be diverted
during the several-day search) was about $242,000, excluding labor costs
from the University (RSO, staff, and others).  All for disposal of
microcurie amounts of radionuclides with half-lives of 14 and 90 days.

Needless to say, I use this anecdote (i.e, nightmare) during rad safety
training.  I also tell them they'll be the one out there searching in the
muck.

PS - the article (I believe it was on the cover) was written somewhere
between 1990 and 1994.  Sorry I don't have the exact date.


Joe Greco
Eastman Kodak Company
joseph.greco@kodak.com







Paul Lavely <lavelyp@uclink4.berkeley.edu> on 04/25/2000 02:12:42 PM

Please respond to radsafe@romulus.ehs.uiuc.edu

To:   Multiple recipients of list <radsafe@romulus.ehs.uiuc.edu>
cc:    (bcc: Joseph M. Greco/497509/EKC)
Subject:  Digging for lost materials




I am sure that we have all heard stories of licensee's having to go
to landfills or garbage distribution centers to look (dig) for
packages or containers of radioactive materials such as P-32, C-14,
H-3, S-35. Can anyone direct me to or provide references to actual
cases were a licensee had to "dig" for materials such as these?

Note - I am NOT looking for times when a sealed source was lost and
promoted a search through trash, incinerators, etc.

You can email me directly if you wish.

Thank you.

Paul Lavely
UC Berkeley
lavelyp@uclink4.berkeley.edu

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