A Three member committee set up by Delhi University ( DU) to probe the irresponsible disposal of radioactive Cobalt- 60 from its campus has finally submitted its report to vice- chancellor (VC) Deepak Pental. But for now, DU is in no mood to fix responsibility for the Cobalt fiasco that claimed one life and injured six others in the Capital in April.
Though the VC confirmed the report had been submitted, he said deciding on action against any teacher wasn’t a “ priority” right now.
“ I got the report on Monday. But I want to sort out the semester problem first as the future of students is at stake. Only then will I be able to concentrate on the report and call for an EC ( executive council) meeting, which will finally decide on what action should be taken,” Pental said.
“ Why should we take action immediately? That will not bring the deceased back. What has happened has happened. I need time to discuss and deliberate on the report. But that’s only after the semester row is sorted,” he added.
Pental had earlier assumed moral responsibility for the negligence that let the radioactive Cobalt- 60 slip out of the university’s chemistry laboratory during a scrap auction and into the Mayapuri scrap market.
He, however, stopped short of taking any immediate action against the professors who were part of the auction committee and ignored the potential danger of improper decommissioning of radioactive material. He, instead, formed a three- member probe committee in the first week of May.
It was headed by S. C. Pancholi a retired professor from DU’s department of physics and astrophysics. Subhash Khushu of the Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Allied Science and N. C. Goomer, head of the Regional Centre for Radiopharmaceuticals, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, were also on the panel.
A delay in response, despite the submission of the report, has put teachers of two courses — MTech in Nuclear Science and Technology and MSc in Physics ( nuclear science) — in a fix.
In the wake of the Mayapuri incident, the Atomic Energy Regulatory Body (AERB) had asked DU to suspend all radioactive- related activities. That direction, which hasn’t been revoked yet, will not allow the students enrolled in the above mentioned courses to conduct practicals once their new session begins.
“ It’s best that the VC takes immediate action on the report or at least writes to the AERB. The new academic session of the first year students enrolled in the MSc programme will begin in a week,” said a faculty member of the department of physics and astrophysics, who did not wish to be identified.
When Medi wanted ato know what the committee had found, both Pental and Pancholi declined to reveal its findings.
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