Atomic energy board probing radiation leak

NEW DELHI - A team from the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) Saturday began investigations into the radiation leak in the capital that has killed one person and injured seven, officials said.

The team Saturday visited Delhi University’s chemistry and physics laboratory and questioned some faculty members, an official said.

The radiation leak was reported about a fortnight ago from a scrap market in Mayapuri area of west Delhi. Police said the source of the leak was a radioactive gamma cell containing Cobalt 60 that was auctioned as scrap by Delhi University’s chemistry department two months ago.

The AERB has issued a show cause notice to the university and has asked it to suspend use of any radioactive material in laboratories. The university has been asked to respond to the notice in two week’s time.

University teachers held a protest Saturday demanding an independent probe into the incident. Any inquiry under the university administration will be an “eye-wash”, they said.

“An independent inquiry should be ordered into the matter and the vice chancellor should step down for enabling a fair probe,” Delhi University Teachers Association (DUTA) president Aditya Narayan Misra said.