Vol. 433 No. 5
122 Miss Harney asked the Minister for Transport, Energy and Communications if, following the report by UCD and Inspectors of the RPII in relation to the fall of a radioactive container with the substance Iodine 125, from a moving vehicle on 11th March 1993, any necessary corrective and legal action is now being undertaken; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
The incident mentioned by the Deputy occurred when a drum containing low-level radioactive material used in medicine fell from a vehicle which was transporting it from UCD's veterinary college at Ballsbridge to a radiation storage area near Celbridge. The drum was properly packaged and labelled. The spillage which occurred was minimal, no person was contaminated and the label enabled the drum to be recognised and the alarm to be raised and responded to quickly and effectively.
At its recent meeting, the board of the RPII considered what action the RPII should take arising from this incident. The board decided, primarily because there was no hazard to the public arising from the incident, that a prosecution was not warranted and that the issuing of a strong letter of reprimand to UCD would be the appropriate action to take. Such a letter did issue and the RPII have received an acknowledgement from UCD with an assurance that the college will continue to observe all requirements and conditions of the licensing system for radiological substances.
