Radiological Material Turns Up At Landfill

SPRING HILL - Trashing A/C units for the copper wire inside is so 2007.

A metal box bolted to the asphalt behind a Spring Hill medical clinic was stolen sometime this weekend. Inside was a smaller box holding radiological medical waste.

At one point, the thieves tossed the box - about the size of a kitchen garbage can - into a recycling bin. Investigators are still establishing a motive, but their best guess is that the thieves were after the box's lining for scrap metal.

On Monday afternoon, employees in the recycling division at the landfill were sorting through tin cans and water bottles when the box, replete with radiation stickers, appeared.

After clearing the building, fire officials determined there was no cause for alarm. The material, about four ounces of TC-99m, has a shelf-life of roughly six hours so its harm had long since expired. Still, the episode was an eye-opener for some about the types of radiological material out in the public.

Pariksith Singh, a physician at the Access Healthcare clinic on Spring Hill Drive where the theft occurred, called the whole episode "strange."

The waste was a mild nuclear dye used to stress test the heart. Its effects last only a few hours and it's not harmful, Singh said.

Once the test is complete, the waste is immediately placed in a secure container and stored in a locked box outside. The dye's manufacturer sends personnel to retrieve the leftovers on a regular basis.

This is the first time for the box to be stolen, probably because it was bolted into the asphalt, Singh said.

"I don't know how they did it," he said. "I never thought this would happen."

Doctors are still planning their next step, but it's possible that the box would be placed in the same locked cage that protects their A/C units from copper thieves.

The sheriff's office is investigating the theft.

Access Healthcare is among the roughly 1,700 businesses in Florida licensed by the Department of Health's Bureau of Radiation Control to handle radiological material.

Half of those are in the medical field, with the other licensees a sundry mix of universities, laboratories and construction businesses.

Typically, the medical offices use isotopes with very short half-lives so their potential for harm is low.

Waste typically is returned to the manufacturer.

The licensees are inspected on a regular basis to make sure they are adhering to protocol, including security requirements. Violations range from fines to revocation of the license.

Inspectors keep close watch on which organization has what type of radiological material "so that there's a trail," said Bill Passetti, chief of the Bureau of Radiation Control.

The material discovered at the landfill is a form of Technetium-99.

Tc-99 concentrates in the thyroid gland and gastrointestinal tract; however, half is excreted within 60 hours. The EPA gives no specific threat from exposure to Tc-99, only that the odds of cancer or other adverse health effects are increased after exposure to radioactivity.