Re: DANGER: RADIOACTIVE RECYCLING ALERT

[gibbgreg <gibbgreg@isu.edu>]

I guess trying to explain something like this to those who refuse to be
educated would probably be pointless, eh?  It is unfortunate.  I know
that radioactive contamination in recycled metals has happened in
several places around the world, but I wouldn't place the blame on DOE
or NRC.  Though I can't remember the names of the authors right off,
there have been several articles in the HPS journal in recent years
addressing this very issue.  National and International (U.S., Mexico,
and Taiwan) private recycling industries have had accidental incidents
of smelting teletherapy units and other non-accelerator medical devices
with large radioactive sources that have been mixed with other recycled
metals.  This clearly isn't an intentional operation on the part of
anyone, but as with any other industry, some accidents do occur.

Greg Gibbons
(gibbgreg@isu.edu)

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