An independent inquiry has been demanded after radioactive waste was wrongly disposed of at Ninewells Hospital.
According to an email, seen by The Courier, a sharps bin containing radioactive waste was wrongly placed in a yellow clinical waste container.
The radioactive material, which officials have stressed was not dangerous, was then sent out with the other clinical waste, against the conditions of the hospital’s site licence for the use of radioactive material.
The email, which was sent to all Dundee University staff at Ninewells, states: “Two weeks ago a sharps bin containing radioactive waste was placed for uplift by janitors at stairwell 6, level 7 near the small lift in the laboratory block.
“This stairwell area temporarily holds all of the laboratory waste containers for level 7 until work on the freight lift is completed. An unknown person placed this waste in one of the yellow clinical waste containers, despite the waste being clearly labelled as radioactive.
“This resulted in the waste being sent out via the clinical waste route, which contravenes our site licence for the use and disposal of radioactive isotopes.”
“Prompt” action by staff meant the waste was subsequently recovered.
The person responsible for the incorrect disposal has not been identified but all university staff have been reminded of the safe disposal of radioactive material.
NHS Tayside was contacted by The Courier for comment but it directed our reporter to the university, saying this relates to disposal of waste from laboratory-based activities of the university.
A spokesman for Dundee University said: “In March a small sharps bin containing a total of 0.68MBq of iodine-125 left over from cell labelling work in the university medical school was mistakenly placed in the clinical waste stream and not the radioactive waste stream.
“Contingency procedures were followed and the sharps bin was quickly located and segregated from the clinical waste before being properly disposed of.
“This is a small activity of iodine-125 that would not have posed any risk to persons or the environment.”
Last night Lochee councillor Tom Ferguson, whose ward covers the hospital, said he had “serious concerns” and called for an independent review into how waste is disposed of at the premises.
“There is a clear policy of disposal of all this type of waste,” he said. “My concerns are obviously for the public at large and the people in my ward.
“I would have to be convinced that the procedures are thorough and that we can have confidence in management procedures to carry this work out.
“My concerns are what if any radioactive material got into the wrong hands? That does not bear thinking about.
“Who knows what could have happened? I am asking now for an independent review into this type of incident to give the public at large and the staff some comfort.”