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Re: More bad news
Many thanx for your help. It's much better to discuss facts rather than
speculation. P-32 definitely seems to be the radionuclide of choice for
intentional misuse.
The opinions expressed are strictly mine.
It's not about dose, it's about trust.
Bill Lipton
liptonw@dteenergy.com
"Frank E. Gallagher, III" wrote:
> At 08:08 PM 8/20/99 -0500, Bill Liptin wrote:
> >Is this an "epidemic" or what?
> >
> >Seriously, though, before this thread goes much further, I'd be grateful
> if there is
> >a knowledgeable person who could supply some real information, eg,
> radionuclide
> >used, activity, internal or external exposure, estimated dose and dose
> commitment.
> >
> >
> >> Man charged with radioactive assault
> >> SANTA ANA, Calif. - A former university lab technician who authorities said
> >> sought revenge on a coworker by smearing her chair with radioactive
> material was
> >> arrested Thursday on a charge of assault with a deadly weapon.
>
> Now that the former technician has been arrested, I am free to answer a few
> questions about the alleged crime involving radioactive materials at the
> University of California, Irvine (UCI). Some of the information below was
> previously copied to Radsafe from the NRC event report that the federal
> agency received from the State of California.
>
> About 15-30 microcuries of P-32 CTP (1-2 microliters) was intentionally
> dropped, using a micropipette, onto an office chair at a desk in a
> laboratory. The victim then sat in the chair for 3-4 hours total during
> parts of 2 days. The laboratory technician admitted his guilt to the
> principal investigator and later to the Radiation Safety Officer and two
> health physicists during a factfinding interview.
>
> We measured (ion chamber and TLD independently) about 100 mrem/h thru
> clothing, giving the victim a dose of about 400 mrem external shallow dose
> equivalent to the skin of her buttocks. A urine sample indicated no
> detectable radioactivity. Remember that the annual limit for SDE is 50
> rems. Our ALARA Level I for an investigation of an SDE occupational
> exposure is 2.5 rems per event or 5 rems per year, whichever occurs first
> during the calendar year. Thus, this dose was well below our ALARA Level I.
>
> The UCI Police and Orange County DA essentially conducted an investigation
> independent of the UCI Radiation Safety Officer and staff, although they
> used my report as input. The Police did explain to me that under
> California law, they can only arrest someone for a misdemeanor (e.g.,
> simple assault, which I could easily support in this case) if the officer
> actually sees the crime being committed (or the victim makes a citizen's
> arrest). Thus, to be able to proceed with an arrest, they needed to
> establish at least some evidence for a felony charge (the deadly weapon part).
>
> Since the chair was still in the laboratory, I do not understand the charge
> of illegal radioactive waste disposal. After the victim found the
> contamination on the chair, and before we had any evidence of an
> intentional exposure, we moved the chair to our central radioactive waste
> storage area to be stored for decay.
>
> The Police and DA obviously did not ask my advice on the appropriate
> charges for the alleged criminal. The two felony charges probably give the
> DA plenty of room for a plea bargain, if they decide to go that route
> before trial.
>
> This was another deliberate act by a trained and authorized radioisotope
> user with legitimate access to the materials. Sound familiar?
>
> Frank E. Gallagher, III, MS, MPH, CHP
> Manager, Radiation Protection Section
> Radiation Safety Officer
> Environmental Health & Safety Office
> University of California, Irvine
> 300 University Tower || Irvine, CA 92697-2725
> (949) 824-6904 || Fax: (949) 824-8539
> fegallag@uci.edu
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