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Re: Egypt detains four over radiation deaths
I sent the following message to IAEA:
Dear IAEA's colleagues,
About 10 years ago, and again and again.... similar accidents, are growing.
At the Goiania 10 Years later Conference, 1997, during my presentation I
mentioned:
"It is vital to be aware of the dangers of not applying the lessons of the
radiological accident in Goiania in countries that do not have a major power
reactor programme. The radiological accident in Goiania ended 10 years ago,
but many technical, political, economic, social and psychological lessons
still remain to be analyzed and learned, lest any other similar take place"
--------
Control of Radiation Sources and Emergency Planning and Preparedness are yet
in incipient stage in more than 50% of the IAEA Member States. If there is
not control of sources, we must agree soon another accident like this will
take place. If there is not control of sources, we also must agree how to be
sure
about the control of workers doses and specially misadministration to
patients?
Jose Julio Rozental
joseroze@betvision.net.il
Israel
----- Original Message -----
From: McDonald, Michael P <mpmcdon@sandia.gov>
To: Multiple recipients of list <radsafe@romulus.ehs.uiuc.edu>
Sent: Monday, July 03, 2000 5:41 PM
Subject: RE: Egypt detains four over radiation deaths
> Sandy and all,
>
> I have to agree with Dr. R.E. Toohey of REAC/TS in Oak Ridge, when he
stated
> at one of the PEP sessions he presented at the American Radiation Safety
> Conference and Exposition in Denver last week, that "we need to quit
> worrying (as a scientific global community) about whether or not the TEDE
> limit should be 5 or 3 or 2 rem, and start worrying about how we are going
> to prevent deaths due to the misuse of radioactive material." (quote is
> paraphrased of course) His session was titled "Recent Radiation Accidents"
> and was an excellent PEP session. It really opens your eyes and gets you
> thinking past the LNT debates.
>
>
> Michael McDonald
> RP and IH Training Project
> Sandia National Laboratories, NM
> mpmcdon@sandia.gov
> 505-844-0653
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Sandy Perle [mailto:sandyfl@earthlink.net]
> Sent: July 03, 2000 9:11 AM
> To: Multiple recipients of list
> Subject: Egypt detains four over radiation deaths
>
>
> Egypt detains four over radiation deaths
>
> CAIRO, July 3 (Reuters) - Egyptian prosecutors have remanded
> four men in custody for four days to question them about a
> radioactive cylinder that killed a Nile Delta farmer and his son last
> month, security sources said on Monday.
>
> They said Salem Sayed Ahmed, owner of an industrial
> maintenance firm named Consultant Office for Welding and Export,
> and Raafat Mohamed, a Sudanese technician, and two other
> technicians were accused of gross negligence, manslaughter and
> unintentional injury.
>
> Ahmed also owns an import firm named Wico International, which
> had imported the cylinder, carrying the serial number F3139, from
> the United States, the sources said.
>
> Information Minister Safwat al-Sherif said last week the farmer's
> family had taken the poisonous cylinder home, not knowing what it
> was, but hoping it was valuable. It was not known how or where the
> family found the object.
>
> The farmer, Fadhl Hassan Fadhl, his wife and five children were
> admitted to a local hospital in early June, suffering from skin
> eruptions. One son died there. Fadhl died in a specialised Cairo
> hospital, where his wife and surviving children remain.
>
> Authorities have cordoned off the village of Mit Halfa, about 40 km
> (25 miles) north of Cairo, taken blood samples from residents and
> admitted some of them to hospital for tests.
>
> Security sources said technicians from the consulting firm had left
> the radioactive device, used in welding, at a site where they were
> fixing liquefied gas pipes, believing it was buried with the pipes.
> Ahmed failed to inform the competent authorities that the object
> had disappeared, they added.
>
> If convicted, the accused could face jail terms ranging from six
> months to 10 years.
>
> Hafez el-Fouli, who heads an emergency committee at the state
> Nuclear Research Centre, told Reuters the cylinder, a sealed
> radioactive source, was used to test the quality of pipe welding.
> ``The equipment is called a gamma-camera and the radioactive
> source is made of irridium or cobalt.
>
> ``Fortunately that source is made of irridium whose life is much
> shorter,'' Fouli said of the cylinder found in Mit Halfa.
>
> He said radioactive sources were ``widely imported for industrial
> and medical purposes.''
>
> Other experts said the state Atomic Energy Authority or the Health
> Ministry normally authorise such imports.
>
> Ahmed told prosecutors he had imported two similar devices and
> taken them to Giza governorate. Experts removed them safely,
> security sources said.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------
--
> ------
> Sandy Perle Tel:(714) 545-0100 / (800)
> 548-5100
> Director, Technical Extension 2306
>
> ICN Worldwide Dosimetry Division Fax:(714) 668-3149
>
> ICN Biomedicals, Inc. E-Mail:
> sandyfl@earthlink.net
> ICN Plaza, 3300 Hyland Avenue E-Mail: sperle@icnpharm.com
>
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>
> Personal Website: http://www.geocities.com/capecanaveral/1205
> ICN Worldwide Dosimetry Website: http://www.dosimetry.com
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