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Re: Radioactive spill near Dorval airport



Jaro asked:

The incident revolved around a damaged container that had contained a type
of medical radio-isotope. Inside the container was a tube that had carried
the material. The tube weighed about 300 pounds, was about 18 inches long
and 6 inches in diameter, Levesque said. 
The container was en route from Brazil back to the supplier in Ottawa, and
was being handled by staff at Excel Cargo, one of the airport's independent
cargo-handlers, when it fell. The clip holding the container's lid in place
was dislodged, according to Levesque and representatives of Excel. About 15
people had to leave the hanger. 
"There was no contamination, no product loss. The container was empty,"
Levesque said. 
When firefighters who were called to the scene tested for radiation, they
got a reading, but "the source of radiation was the container itself because
it was made of depleted uranium, which is used to absorb radiation," he
added. "It is the best material that you can have to absorb radiation. É but
it is a very weak source of radiation." 
Readings were detectable only within about a metre of the container, he
said. 
Shipment of the empty container conformed "to all existing regulations,"
said Levesque, adding that requirements would have been different had the
container been full. 
<><><><><><><><><>

any idea what might have been in the container [before it was returned] ?

Jaro
frantaj@aecl.ca


It sounds very much like the type B shipping cask with DU inner shield 
that we get our Mo-99 from Nordion in.

John Laferriere, CHP
DuPont Pharmaceuticals Co.
Medical Imaging Division
john.r.laferriere@dupontpharma.com


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