Radioactive medical material not linked to terrorism, FBI says

Jace Radke

Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2003 | 10:07 a.m.

Radioactive medical material that registered found in a Las Vegas storage unit after it registered on Environmental Protection Agency monitor is not linked to any kind of terrorism plot, FBI officials said.

A radioactive isotope was located Monday night in a storage unit off the Strip, said FBI Special Agent Todd Palmer, who refused to divulge exactly where the isotope was found, but said it posed no safety threat.

"It may have been something that was discarded," Palmer said. "We are continuing to investigate, but it is not linked to any terrorism."

The material is used in the treatment of cancer and was found only in small amounts, FBI officials said.

EPA sensors have been installed in 30 cities, including Las Vegas, to pick up any harmful biological agents and provide test results in 12 to 24 hours. The locations of the monitors are not released for security reasons, Nevada Homeland Security Director Jerry Bussell said.

Stanley Marshall, Radiological Health Section supervisor for the Nevada State Health Division, said Tuesday that he has not been informed by federal or local authorities that any radioactive substances have been found.

"At this time, I don't have a call," he said.

As in 32 other states, the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission has delegated inspection and enforcement responsibility for the handling of radioactive materials to the state of Nevada. Marshall said the applications in medicine, academia and industry are varied.

Hospitals and research institutions such as the University of Nevada, Las Vegas typically hold licenses to use radioactive materials, he said. Statewide, there are 255 licenses, about 150 of those in Clark County.

In medicine, radioactive materials are widely used in diagnosing and treating problems including cancer, Marshall said. In those applications, the materials are usually relatively short-lived isotopes designed to minimize the radiation doses transmitted to patients.

Dr. Juan Miranda, a radiation pathologist on staff at University Medical Center, said that radioactive isotopes usually come in a solid form but also come in a liquid form.

"It's hard to say how dangerous the sample that the FBI found is, because we don't know how big it is, but it's likely a small source," Miranda said.

Dr. Susan Reisinger, who works in radiation oncology at UMC, said that the sample found may have decayed, "making it relatively harmless."

Instances of radioactive medical waste being discovered outside of hospitals and licensed institutions are rare, said Doug Joslin, manager of the Clark County Health District's solid waste compliance department.

Joslin said that most companies that use these kinds of materials contract with Republic Services to have the contaminated waste sterilized in an autoclave before being dumped in a landfill.