Journalism of Courage
Following the radioactive material leak in Delhi University that was revealed last month,starting with the University of Pune (UoP),the University Grants Commission (UGC) began inspection of laboratories in varsities across the country from Friday.
The UGC is planning to come up with safety guidelines for handling radioactive materials in varsity laboratories. The move has come in the backdrop of the Delhi University incident and it proposes to now put stringent norms on use of radioactive materials in laboratories besides present norms of Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB). A team comprising members of UGC,All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS),Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) and AERB visited UoP on Friday to inspect the facilities at its Physics and Chemistry laboratories.
The team inspected the processes of using and disposing of the radioactive materials. It checked the level of exposure of researchers or lab attendants to these materials. Committee chairman G K Rath said the idea is to look at the facilities and how the radioactive material is maintained. We are satisfied with the facilities in the UoP and will recommend our suggestions in our consequent communication to the varsity, he said.
The inspection will be carried out in all varsities across the country. We will set up some guidelines on the use of radioactive materials based on our observations. The implementation of guidelines will be linked to research grants to make them more effective, said K P Singh,joint secretary of UGC. The UoP has been using radioactive materials for research purpose in its Physics and Chemistry labs for over 40 years. We follow AERB norms while procuring and using radioactive materials, said W N Gade,director of Board of College and University Development of the UoP.
