EDUCATION: MAGILL SPILL BLAMED ON WORKER

The radioactive contamination of Southeast Missouri State University's Magill Hall has been traced to a man who moved a safe containing a vial of americium-241 in January 1997 while he was on a work-release program, school officials said Wednesday.

Dr. Chris McGowan, dean of the College of Science and Mathematics, said the man has reported that the liquid spilled when he moved the safe. He has told officials that he cleaned up the liquid that spilled on the floor.

The man has tested positive in a urine test for exposure to the radioactive material, one of two men to test positive, school officials said at a campus news conference. The other is a man who worked for a Madison, Wis., company that was hired to address the decontamination problem in June.

School officials haven't disclosed the names of the two men.

The university later hired Science Applications International Corp. to conduct health tests and decontaminate the science building under the watchful eye of the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

The cleanup project is expected to cost the university $1.1 million, school officials said recently.

Jim Moos, project manager for SAIC, said the previous decontamination contractor clearly didn't take proper precautions.

"It's obvious proper contamination control techniques were not taken," he said.

Moos said the Nuclear Regulatory Commission could take action against the contractor if it thinks the company didn't follow NRC regulations on radioactive cleanup.

SAIC officials said 36 people, including university employees and students, have undergone urine tests. Of those, only the two men have tested positive.

SAIC has identified plumbers, carpenters, electricians and heating and cooling technicians who did work in the building as having the highest potential risk.

The university and SAIC are awaiting results on four others who were tested.

Additional urine samples are being taken from the two men, but SAIC and school officials said the apparent exposure shouldn't pose a health risk to either individual.

Southeast President Dr. Ken Dobbins, told reporters the test results were good news.

"It appears to us that we can really breathe a sigh of relief," Dobbins said.

Moos said decontamination work has been completed on Room 242 in Magill Hall. Decontamination work is about 60 percent complete in the basement of the science building where walls and floors are being cleaned.

Moos said the work should be completed in the next 1 1/2 weeks. The NRC likely will inspect the building within the next two weeks.