[ RadSafe ] Fwd: Not safe for the U of Hawaii but OK for us ???

[Norm Cohen]

------- Forwarded message -------
From: Nocobalt4food at aol.com
To: Nocobalt4food at aol.com
Subject: Not safe for the U of Hawaii but OK for us ???
Date: Sat, 16 Apr 2005 15:14:52 EDT


Not Safe for the University of Hawaii but  OK for us???


Cobalt-60, which has weakened over time (since  1960's), was deemed a
national-security risk by the National Nuclear  Security Administration  
and ordered
removed from the University of Hawaii.   Yet, this same material (in a far
stronger state) is OK to have at the nuclear  food irradiator in Milford  
Square,
PA ???

"The removal of these radiological  sources has greatly reduced the chance
that radiological materials could get  into the wrong hands," said Paul
Longsworth, NNSA deputy director for  nonproliferation. "The University of  
Hawai'i,
its surrounding neighbors and the  international community are safer today  
as a
result of this effort."

Did you know there was an attempt to put a nuclear food  irradiator on the
island of Hawaii??  Instead, the good people there  fought back, in a  
united
effort, and today there is an electron  irradiator.  Irradiation of food is
certainly a poor idea but nuclear is  just ......

Posted on: Thursday, April 14, 2005
Key ingredient in 'dirty  bombs' removed from UH
By _Johnny  Brannon_ (mailto:jbrannon at honoluluadvertiser.com)
Advertiser Education  Writer
Radioactive material that had been used for decades at the  University of
Hawai'i in agricultural research — but that now carries  national-security
implications — has been removed and disposed of, according to  the  
National Nuclear
Security Administration.
About cobalt-60
• What it is: Cobalt (chemical symbol Co) is a  metal that may be stable
(nonradioactive, as found in nature), or unstable  (radioactive, manmade).  
The
most common radioactive isotope of cobalt is  cobalt-60.
• What is cobalt-60 used for? Cobalt-60 is used in  many common industrial
applications, such as in leveling devices and  thickness gauges, and in
radiotherapy in hospitals. Large sources of  cobalt-60 are increasingly  
used for
sterilization of spices and certain  foods. The powerful gamma rays kill  
bacteria
and other pathogens without  damaging the product. The product is not left
radioactive. This process is  sometimes called "cold pasteurization."
Source: U.S. Environmental Protection  AgencyThe  substance, called
cobalt-60, was loaned to the university in the 1960s by the  U.S. Atomic  
Energy
Commission, and was kept at a lab on the Manoa campus near  the  
Agricultural
Engineering Building on Maile Way, UH radiation safety officer  Irene  
Sakimoto said.
The 100 sources, or individual pieces, of cobalt-60 were  removed at the
university's request, because they had greatly weakened over time  and  
were no
longer being used in research, she said.
UH spokesman Jim Manke said the material had not posed  any danger to the
public, and that the university did not possess any more of  it.
Federal authorities are concerned that cobalt-60 could be  used to
manufacture a crude radioactive weapon, or "dirty bomb," if obtained by   
terrorists.
Such devices combine a conventional explosive, such as dynamite,  with
radioactive material. The NNSA has launched a national Radiological  
Threat  Reduction
Program to recover and secure materials that could be used to make  such
weapons.
"The removal of these radiological sources has greatly  reduced the chance
that radiological materials could get into the wrong hands,"  said Paul
Longsworth, NNSA deputy director for nonproliferation. "The University  of  
Hawai'i,
its surrounding neighbors and the international community are safer  today  
as a
result of this effort."
A private contractor with expertise in removing,  packaging and  
transporting
cobalt-60 completed the removal on March 28, and it  was permanently  
disposed
of at a secure facility on Tuesday, the NNSA said.
The material was used in an irradiation process to treat  tropical fruit,
such as papayas and rambutan, Sakimoto said. The research was   
discontinued last
year after a professor who oversaw the effort retired, she  said.
"They were testing different kind of fruits to see how  much radiation they
would have to give it to kill insects, but keep the fruit in  a marketable
condition," Sakimoto said.
Irradiation is used by some food processors to kill  bacteria and other
pathogens that could otherwise result in spoilage or food  poisoning.  
Cobalt-60 is
the most commonly used radionuclide for food  irradiation, according to the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
There is one commercial food irradiation facility in  Hawai'i, on the Big
Island, but it does not use cobalt-60, according to the  state Department  
of
Agriculture.
Scientists measure radiological activity, or strength, by  a unit called  
the
curie, which is defined as 37 billion disintegrations per  second. Sakimoto
said the cobalt-60 at UH measured at 1,000 curies.
"For research, it's a small amount," she said.
Reach Johnny Brannon at _jbrannon at honoluluadvertiser.com_
(mailto:jbrannon at honoluluadvertiser.com)  or  525-8084



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"A time comes when silence is betrayal.
Even when pressed by the demands of
inner truth, men do not easily assume
the task of opposing their government's
policy, especially in time of war.
Nor does the human spirit move without
  great difficulty against all the apathy
of conformist thought, within one's own
bosom and in the surrounding world."

- Martin Luther King Jr.

 
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