SEMO TO KEEP BETTER TABS ON RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS FOLLOWING SPILL

Southeast Missouri State University will keep better track of radioactive materials in science labs and on campus after spending the summer cleaning up a radiation leak in its science building, officials said.

University officials announced the change in policy and said an amended license from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission had been granted to the university for cleanup of americium-241. The announcement came during a news conference Tuesday afternoon on campus.

The university found in February that two small vials of americium-241 had leaked from a safe inside a basement storage room in Magill Hall. The leak was discovered after an inspection by the NRC.

The element, a man-made chemical found commonly in household smoke detectors, likely had been on campus since the 1960s, but officials thought it had been removed in 1991.

Since the contamination could have occurred over a 20-year-period, several objects in the building have been found to have traces of contamination. "Frankly we aren't surprised by that," said Dr. Chris McGowan, dean of the College of Science and Technology.

About 35 people are still being tested for contamination, officials said. Yet, unless the chemical is inhaled or settles in the body it poses little health risk. Earlier, the university tested 49 people through a mobile lab but found that other testing methods also had to be used.

McGowan said, "At the end of the current process we will write a plan to come into compliance with the NRC and to maintain a better handle" on where radioactive elements are "across the college and university."

Cleanup of Magill Hall should be complete by week's end. A team from Science Applications International Corp. in St. Louis is working to identify all objects in the building that might have been contaminated.

In some cases the contamination has been limited to the first and second stories, McGowan said. But several objects were found to have fixed levels of radiation that means the chemical has now become embedded in the object.

"Over the years things have been moved around," he said. "We're not sure everything is americium."

But everything that records a level of contamination is being taken to the basement in Magill Hall, he said. Once all the items are secured in the basement, the area will be locked up until the items are disposed of or decontamination is completed.

The building is now being treated as a construction zone, and access is limited, he said. Faculty and staff with offices in the building are allowed inside, but the SAIC team continues to work. Some research projects are being put on hold, McGowan said, until all the labs and classrooms are tested for contamination levels.

Students arriving on campus for classes Monday shouldn't be affected, McGowan said.

Despite spending an estimated $35,000 to $40,000 on testing people for contamination, the university plans to continue using radioactive materials. McGowan said that research projects on campus will continue to use radioactive elements, and the university will again apply for licenses from the NRC.

"There will be more bureaucracy," he said, and tighter controls on the radiation materials. The university has always had a risk management office, but the office likely will have more work now than in the past, McGowan said.

The contamination at the university is considered in the low to moderate ranges, said Jim Moos, a health and safety manager with SAIC. He spoke with reporters via a conference call. Larger universities often have larger problems, he said.

SAIC helped the university develop its plan for decontamination and cleanup of the americium waste.

McGowan said at least some university officials knew that the americium-241 had not been hauled away back in 1991 and that it remained in Magill Hall. However, that information wasn't ever shared with others until the leak was discovered.

Pages of a report from the NRC were omitted in copies received by the Southeast Missourian because references were made to specific individuals employed by the university. University legal counsel recommended that those pages be removed, said Diane Sides of the university's public relations department.

The chemical was used as part of a university chemistry course from the late 1960s to 1980s. Since the material is often similar to X-rays and gamma rays, it is often used to standardize instruments and equipment for research, McGowan said.

At a glance

* Thirty-five people are still being tested for contamination.

* The university will write a plan to better comply with the NRC.

* Access to Magill Hall is limited.

* Cleanup should be finished by week's end.