The existence of a radioactive source in the Aligarh Muslim University Physics Department which has not been in use for decades and has been lying locked up in a room has been disclosed by Physics Department chairman Prof. Mohammed Zafar in a letter to the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board on Saturday.
The scare triggered by the tracing of radioactive sources to Delhi University’s Department of Chemistry in April prompted Prof. Zafar to write to the AERB. Exposure to the source in Delhi had resulted not only in death, but had also caused a few to be affected.
“This is not the first time we are writing to them. Over ten years back two letters were written to the AERB requesting them to send technical personnel and decide what to do with the material. But no action was taken since we could not furnish any details regarding the origin of the source. The source which is possibly a radium beryllium neutron source may have arrived in the university around 1949. There are no records to verify if the source was bought or given by someone,’ Prof. Zafar said.
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The source is currently lying locked in a room in a building of the Physics Department. According to Prof. Zafar, it may have last been used in the 1970s.
Speaking about the degree of danger from exposure to the source, he said: “It depends on the level of exposure and the energy of the source. The source may have low radiation as it was used in laboratory experiments: still we have to check. We do not know how harmful or dangerous this source may be. Hence we have asked for some technical personnel to come to AMU and do the needful.”
“Whenever we need nuclear or atomic material, we usually inform the AERB about our requirements. Similarly, if we are no longer using some radioactive material the AERB is informed,” he added.
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