Word: spills
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BOSTON--An internal investigation of a January radioactive spill in Building D of the Harvard Medical School has concluded the accident produced no health risk, according to a report summary prepared by the school and the University's Environmental Health and Safety Office...
...summary said radioactive Phosphorus-32 dripped onto the floor in the Medical School's Building D on January 13 from a cart used to transport radioactive waste away from the laboratories. While the spill was not detected for two hours, "no radioactive material was found on individuals, except for trace amounts on the bottom of the shoes of a few employees," the summary said...
...report listed four causes of the spill: a mistake by a researcher in the preparation of a jar for waste disposal, a possible leaky cover for the jar containing Phosphorus-32, the failure of the waste collector to secure the jar in the cart and deficiencies in the cart...
...summary sought to downplay the radiological significance of the spill. It said that if the total amount of radioactivity that dripped from the cart were ingested by one worker, it would only be half the annual limit on intake established by federal regulations...
...three months after it happened, signs of the spill remain. Walking areas on the first four floors of Building D are covered with half-inch thick plywood, with 18 planks of wood alone stretching over large parts of the first floor. The floor of the building's main elevator also has a plywood covering...