Saturday, May 1, 2010
Delhi university probed over radioactive waste
India's Atomic Energy Agency, the regulator said Friday it was investigate allegations that Delhi University (DU) radioactive material buried on campus its the middle of an escalating scandal over his treatment of toxic squander.
Police Thursday answerable DU for dumping a emission machine that contains radioactive Cobalt 60, which ended up in the scrapyard in New Delhi, where it killed a 35-year-old worker and put seven others in hospital.
The episode has highlighted the lax enforcement of waste disposal laws in India and raised misgivings of extra pollution from the campus, the city's prime establishment with 300,000 students reach over two location. Atomic Energy dogmatic Board (chaste) said Friday that it had balanced the license to handle radioactive resources chemistry laboratory responsible for throwing out the emission machine.
"The university authorities and students cannot use the lab until we give them permission," Ompal Singh, said the secretary chaste.
Ramesh Chandra, a professor of chemistry section, said Friday that his generation in the physics section had buried 20 kg of low-grade radioactive waste in a pond on campus 20 years ago.
"Instead of filing of hazardous material ... for proper disposal, they just buried it," he said. "Although there has been 20 years it buried isotopes of uranium compounds that may still be active."
Singh said the controller was looking at waste management at the university and will investigate new allegations by Chandra.
"We will control the professor claims. If the noxious waste is found, we will take strict action against the university," said Singh.
Delhi University refused to comment on the matter.
The gamma emission machine in scrap yard in Delhi earlier this month was imported by the University in 1980, but had not been used since 1985. It was sold to scrap dealers at an auction in February.
Vice Chancellor Deepak Pental said Thursday that the university "taking moral responsibility and was apologetic for the harm caused."
He said that "error" was to underrate the radioactivity of the machine. A three-committee is set up to investigate.
Search teams from the police and an atomic research center found Cobalt-60 in 15 stores in the scrap market.
Last week India's Shipping Ministry ordered 12 ports to install detectors for radioactive material, which feared other hazardous substances can get into the country.
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