RE: Fwd: Student Accused in Poisoning Case

["Sandy Perle" <sandyfl@earthlink.net>]

For those who have not seen the article, it is provided below. I 
would be interested in clarification of what the "actual" procedure 
is, with respect to contamination control. The article states "The 
contamination was discovered Wednesday when Xiao arrived at 
Brown's pharmacology laboratory, where students routinely are 
tested for radiation. A Geiger counter showed that Xiao was ``hot,'' 
Campbell said."  I wonder whether the students are frisked (seems 
unlikely) or, the area is frisked as part of routine surveys in the lab.

Sunday November 15 12:23 PM ET

Student Accused in Poisoning Case

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) - A Brown University graduate student 
has been charged with using a radioactive medical chemical to 
poison two other students - one of them his former girlfriend, 
authorities said Sunday.  

Neither of the poisoned students was harmed, said university 
spokesman Mark Nickel  

Cheng Gu, 24, placed a radioactive isotope of iodine in a dish of 
vegetables and chicken he gave to Yuanyuan Xiao, a fellow student 
in molecular pharmacology, said police Lt. Stephen Campbell. 
Xiao's roommate, undergraduate James A. O'Brien, also ate the 
tainted food.  

Gu was arrested Friday and charged with poisoning, assault and 
larceny. He was freed on personal recognizance until his next court 
date.  

The attack apparently was motivated by ``some kind of love 
interest,'' said police Capt. John Ryan. Xiao told police she had 
been Gu's girlfriend in their native China and, for a time, in the 
United States.  

The isotope, iodine-125, is used to diagnose and treat thyroid 
disorders, and the amount Xiao and O'Brien received was about the 
same as that given in such diagnostic procedures, said Nickel.  

The contamination was discovered Wednesday when Xiao arrived 
at Brown's pharmacology laboratory, where students routinely are 
tested for radiation. A Geiger counter showed that Xiao was ``hot,'' 
Campbell said.  

Finding nothing amiss in the lab, safety personnel went to Xiao's 
home and found radioactive contamination in Gu's dish of chicken, 
tomatoes, string beans and a green leafy vegetable, Campbell said. 
 

Although Gu worked in the laboratory, he was not supposed to be 
working with iodine-125 and the isotope was secured with a 
combination lock, Campbell said.  

Iodine-125 has a half-life of six months, meaning half of its radiation 
dissipates every six months.

Sandy Perle
E-Mail: sandyfl@earthlink.net 
Personal Website: http://www.geocities.com/capecanaveral/1205

"The object of opening the mind, as of opening 
the mouth, is to close it again on something solid"
              - G. K. Chesterton -
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