HAZMAT - Canada, Province of Ontario, Toronto [Sunnybrook Research Institute]

Earth Watch Report  -  Hazmat

Radioactive lab material missing from Sunnybrook research centre

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HAZMAT

Canada

Province of Ontario, Toronto [Sunnybrook Research Institute]

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HAZMAT in Canada on Thursday, 10 April, 2014 at 03:36 (03:36 AM) UTC.

Description A small amount of radioactive material has mysteriously disappeared from a Toronto research facility. The Sunnybrook Research Institute (SRI) announced Wednesday evening that a locked, lead-lined cabinet containing radioactive material went missing some time after June or July of last year. The working theory is that the cabinet was mistakenly sent to a scrapyard, said Michael Julius, the institute's vice-president of research. Although SRI is located at Sunnybrook hospital, Dr. Julius said the missing cabinet is not a threat to patients. "There is no impact on patient safety. I really do want to underscore that," he said. Staff at SRI first noticed the cabinet was missing during a routine audit on March 21. The cabinet, a heavy 75-cubic-centimetre object, was clearly labelled as containing radioactive material. Inside were 14 radioactive items, only one of which poses a potential health risk, Dr. Julius said. That item, about half the size of a dime and used to calibrate X-ray machines, contains the radioactive isotope Americium-241, commonly found in smoke detectors. It was encased in its own locked, lead-and-steel box inside the cabinet. "If you managed to get it out of the smaller box - which would be a feat, I have to tell you - if you were to put it in your pocket, for example, and left it in your pocket for a day or two, you could get a radiation burn," Dr. Julius said.

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Radioactive lab material missing from Sunnybrook research centre

KELLY GRANT

The Globe and Mail

Published Wednesday, Apr. 09 2014, 10:55 PM EDT
Last updated Wednesday, Apr. 09 2014, 10:59 PM EDT

A small amount of radioactive material has mysteriously disappeared from a Toronto research facility.
The Sunnybrook Research Institute (SRI) announced Wednesday evening that a locked, lead-lined cabinet containing radioactive material went missing some time after June or July of last year. The working theory is that the cabinet was mistakenly sent to a scrapyard, said Michael Julius, the institute’s vice-president of research.
Although SRI is located at Sunnybrook hospital, Dr. Julius said the missing cabinet is not a threat to patients. “There is no impact on patient safety. I really do want to underscore that,” he said.
Staff at SRI first noticed the cabinet was missing during a routine audit on March 21. The cabinet, a heavy 75-cubic-centimetre object, was clearly labelled as containing radioactive material.
Inside were 14 radioactive items, only one of which poses a potential health risk, Dr. Julius said. That item, about half the size of a dime and used to calibrate X-ray machines, contains the radioactive isotope Americium-241, commonly found in smoke detectors. It was encased in its own locked, lead-and-steel box inside the cabinet. “If you managed to get it out of the smaller box – which would be a feat, I have to tell you – if you were to put it in your pocket, for example, and left it in your pocket for a day or two, you could get a radiation burn,” Dr. Julius said.

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• HAZMAT - North-America - Canada
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HAZMAT - Australia, State of New South Wales, Cliftleigh

Earth Watch Report  -  Hazmat

• Firefighters clean up a radioactive spill at a work site in Cliftleigh between Heddon Greta and Testers Hollow on Monday afternoon. Photo by Marina Neil

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HAZMAT

Australia

State of New South Wales, Cliftleigh

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HAZMAT in Australia on Monday, 20 January, 2014 at 10:02 (10:02 AM) UTC.

Description

A radioactive substance has been released into the soil at a new housing development in Cliftleigh. Six fire crews were called to the housing estate off Main Road at 5.30pm yesterday after a bulldozer ran over a densometer and smashed it and its radioactive substance into the ground. A densometer is a probe used in geotechnical engineering and it had been put in the ground to determine the depth of the soil. Firefighters said the device contained a small radioactive isotope which had broken during the impact from the earth moving machine. Firefighters wore protective gear and used specific equipment to measure the level of radioactive activity in the soil. They then treated the incident using HAZMAT techniques. Police were also called to the incident and set up an exclusion zone around the estate. One resident who witnessed the clean up, but did not want to be identified, said it was concerning that the radioactive substance had entered the soil. She was worried about the impact it would have on the environment. Another resident was worried the substance might have already damaged the soil.

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Crushed device raises radiation fear in Cliftleigh

By BELINDA-JANE DAVIS

Jan. 20, 2014, 10:20 p.m.

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• Firefighters clean up a radioactive spill at a work site in Cliftleigh between Heddon Greta and Testers Hollow on Monday afternoon. Photo by Marina Neil

A RADIOACTIVE substance has been released into the soil at a new housing development in Cliftleigh.

Six fire crews were called to the housing estate off Main Road at 5.30pm yesterday after a bulldozer ran over a densometer and smashed it and its radioactive substance into the ground.

A densometer is a probe used in geotechnical engineering and it had been put in the ground to determine the depth of the soil.

Firefighters said the device contained a small radioactive isotope that had broken during the impact from the earthmoving machine.

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• HAZMAT - Australia - Australia