Delhi University under scanner for radiation leak

NEW DELHI - Delhi University (DU) may face action for a radiation leak, as the radioactive Cobalt-60 that was found in West Delhi’s scrap market has been traced to its Chemistry Department.

It is reported that the radioactive Cobalt-60 was lying unused for the last 25 years in the Chemistry Department.

The Atomic Energy Regulatory Board has taken the matter very seriously and has said the university can be penalised for violating the rules and for carelessly discarding radioactive material.

Shocked at DU’s act, the board said it was careless attitude on the part of the prestigious university and that it violated specific rules for handling Cobalt 60.

The Atomic Energy Regulatory Board has asked DU to explain the reason for not declaring the source of this Cobalt 60.

Delhi University Vice Chancellor, Dr Deepak Pental, however, told a leading private television channel that an in-depth investigation would be carried out on the matter.

” If the waste came from our university, then we should be responsible about what we are doing and how we are disposing our material. I have spoken to the Head of the Chemistry Department,” said Dr Pental.

“We will conduct in depth investigation from our side about how this negligence has occurred,” he added.

Reportedly over 11 people were hospitalized due to the radiation leak in Mayapuri’s scrap market and one of them died.

Thirty-five year old Rajender, a worker in the Mayapuri scrap market, who was admitted at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) here on April 13, died of multiple organ failure on April 26.

The Delhi Police on Wednesday said the Cobalt-60 was in a ‘Gamma Irradiator’, which was bought in 1968 from Canada and had not been in use since 1985, adding that it was bought by scrap dealers in Mayapuri through an auction in February this year.

It is reported that the Mayapuri scrap dealers dismantled the equipment and in the process, the lead covering on it was peeled off leading to radiation exposure.

Ten sources of Cobalt-60 had been discovered in the market.

Cobalt-60 is a radioactive isotope of cobalt, which is a hard, lustrous, grey metal. It is used in cancer therapy machines and other medical equipment. (ANI)