Radioactive substance missing from hospital

The seeds went missing in June-end, but the hospital authorities fearing a public outcry kept it under tight wraps. As soon as the loss occurred, the hospital sought the help of Dr D R Singh of the city-based Nuclear Fuel Complex. With all the gadgets under his disposal, he tried to trace the source. After fine-combing the hospital, Singh gave up his efforts, saying that the radioactive material might have gone out of the hospital premises.

Desperate, the hospital authorities searched everywhere. They retraced the route taken by the municipal garbage van. They then spent a considerable time at the massive garbage dump at Golconda Fort on the city8217;s outskirts. Here too they drew a blank, failing to catch any blip of the source.

Finally, the authorities informed the Mumbai-based Bhabha Atomic Research Centre BARC 8212; the institution responsible for the supply of the radioactive seeds. Aghast, BARC summoned the doctors responsible for the fiasco. A series of meetings took place in Mumbai where the physicians had no credible explanation to offer.

A worried BARC rushed two top teams headed by senior officials to Hyderabad to try and trace the source. The senior-most team was headed by Dr B C Bhatt, head of the Radiological Physics and Advisory Division at BARC. He is responsible for clearing all radiation-related equipment and sources, a sort of top boss for radiation approvals. The teams too drew a blank. The crux of the team8217;s report was that the source might be 8220;somewhere8221; in Hyderabad. This means that it could be in anybody8217;s backyard or hopefully far away from human habitation. Finally, the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board AERB was informed of the missing radiation sources.

Last week, Dr K S Parthasarthy, Secretary, Atomic Energy Regulatory Board AERB, visited Hyderabad. He and other senior officials of BARC grilled the doctors and authorities of the hospital for over two hours. At the end of a fact-finding mission, the AERB came to the conclusion that there were serious and inexcusable procedural lapses at the MNJ hospital that resulted in the loss of the radioactive source.

Dr Parthasarthy told The Indian Express that 8220;there were serious procedural lapses at MNJ. The AERB had given specific guidelines regarding handling of radioactive substances. Till now, this protocol was being strictly implemented in all industrial units across the country. Hospitals too should follow the protocol. Otherwise, they would be closed down,8221; he warned.

After a series of meetings, the AERB finally decided to shut down the brachetherapy unit at MNJ. Brachetherapy is a procedure used for treating cancer of the breast, cervix and deep-seated tumours. Radioactive seeds are planted for a while in the tumour and only the cancerous cells are burnt out through radiation.