Uranium Leak By Duke University Researchers Comes Under State Scrutiny

A Duke University lab manager has been demoted after damaging a container of Uranium and leaking a small amount of its contents. The incident and its aftermath have drawn a stern rebuke from North Carolina state officials.

The damage done to a container holding Uranium 235 occurred last month when it was moved from Duke's nuclear laboratory on to an area known as the High-Intensity Gamma-ray Source. That's a project of several North Carolina universities.

The lab accident itself is not what alarmed state officials at the Department of Health and Human Services. The state report says one researcher noticed the damage to the uranium container, but a colleague initially ignored the problem, and failed to report the incident for two days. Several areas in the lab and in one researcher's home were contaminated.

In response, the state health department's Radiation Protection Section wrote: “In addition to the findings of noncompliance during this inspection, RPS finds it necessary to impress upon Duke University a concern for the observed negative safety culture."

The Raleigh News & Observer reports that the school has been told by the agency to shut down the laboratory while it addresses "needed improvements.” Duke now has until March 31 to give the state a written response.