A load of construction debris set off radiation alarms at a waste station in Norristown, Pennsylvania. Somewhat bizarrely, investigation revealed a rare find – an antique medical kit containing four capsules of radium.

Pennsylvania state officials said on Tuesday they were searching for the kit’s owner, lest the person be suffering any ill effects from the radioactive material.

The radium capsules together weigh one gram and were safely contained in a lead-lined box [so how did it manage to set off a radiation alarm?], according to the Department of Environmental Protection. But if someone handled the capsules, which are in the form of radium-226, the radiation could burn the skin, said David Allard, director of the agency’s Bureau of Radiation Protection.

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/local/138536809.html

The use of radiation sources and the expansion of complex radiotherapy treatments are growing fast, though are largely confined to specialist units within larger hospitals. The risks of radioactive materials being discarded inadvertently with clinical wastes  are small but not impossible and cannot be dismissed. After all, accidents happen despite the best efforts of hospital and university radiation protection staff.

At one time, radiation monitors were expected on the feed line of clinical waste incinerators and often within the stack also. These have become less common, and almost unknown on ATT systems.

Should radiation monitoring be part of the routine monitoring of all clinical waste facilities?