food irradiation -Reply

[Jim Hardeman <Jim_Hardeman@mail.dnr.state.ga.us>]

There is some experience with contamination of irradiated
products (not food), but to my knowledge only in one (1)
irradiator which used Cs-137 capsules manufactured at the
Waste Encapsulation and Storage Facility (WESF) at
Hanford. One (1) of two-hundred fifty-two (252) capsules at an
irradiator here in Decatur, GA leaked in 1988 ...
contaminating the shielding and cooling water, product and
the building ... and a $45 million, 3.5 year cleanup ensued.

Assuming that the sources used to irradiate food products
are "relatively insoluble" (i.e. Co-60) and regularly leak tested,
there should not be a concern about contamination of the
product. The same claim cannot be made with "soluble"
sources, such as CsCl. I cannot speak to radiolytic chemical
production in the food itself ... I'll have to leave that one to
somebody else.

Jim Hardeman, Manager
Environmental Radiation Program
Environmental Protection Division
Georgia Department of Natural Resources
4244 International Parkway, Suite 114
Atlanta, GA 30354
(404) 362-2675  fax: (404) 362-2653
Jim_Hardeman@mail.dnr.state.ga.us

>>> Kevin Meyer <qkv@ornl.gov> 12/12/96 13:32 >>>

I think that the message is clear that Hormel would like lots
of positive calls to their toll-free number. For those of us who
are not food safety experts, how about a technical discussion
(with references) concerning the pro's and con's of food
irradiation?