West Bengal Govt, VECC to monitor radio-active usage

West Bengal government was taking help from the Department of Atomic Energy's Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre here to monitor safety arrangements in and around places where radio-active material were being used.

"I have sought the VECC's help in monitoring whether institutions using radio-active material were complying with Atomic Energy Regulatory Board norms," state Environment Minister Sudershan Ghosh Dastidar told newsmen here.

Following the fire at AMRI on Friday, there were fears that it had affected the hospital's nuclear medicine unit and had triggered of radiation. A VECC team which visited the hospital, however, allayed such fears.

Stating that government had taken lessons from the AMRI fire incident, Dastidar said he had discussed the matter with VECC director R K Bhandari and it was decided to ensure that AERB norms were maintained in the use and disposal of radio-active material.

"It was also decided that iron scrap yards would be surveyed to ensure that there no radio-active material there," he said.

To create awareness about safety measures, VECC would also hold camps for NGOs and clubs around the institutions using radio-active material, Dastidar added.