Radioactive Medical Kit Found in Trash Bin

The Department of Environmental Protection is trying to track down the origins of an antique medical kit that was found in a Chester County trash bin and contained radioactive material.

The DEP said in a statement Wednesday that the kit was found Jan. 19 when a load of construction debris set off radiation alarms at Waste Management Inc.'s transfer station in Norristown. The kit contained one curie of Radium-226, or the equivalent of having more than 100 CT scans at once.

"The radioactive material may have been contained in the kit for more than 80 years," Bureau Director David Allard said. "The metal box likely came from a basement, an attic or a collector’s stash. Anyone who tampered with it or stored it for a long time may have been exposed to high levels of radiation."

Officials say they've traced the source to a container that had come from the Hershey's Mill retirement community in West Chester.

"Although the capsules do not appear to be leaking, we believe that someone could have had direct contact with these sources of radium-226," Allard said. "The radioactive radium they contain is about five times the amount found in modern medical sources, and we are concerned about the health of anyone who may have handled them."

Anyone with information is asked to contact the DEP at 717-787-2480 or visit www.dep.state.pa.us and click on "Bureau of Radiation Protection."

---

Fan, follow and download: Get the latest from NBCPhiladelphia.com anytime, anywhere. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, our mobile site and NBC Philadelphia. Sign up for our breaking news newsletter. And, get breaking news delivered right to your mobile phone -- just text PHIBREAKING to 639710 to sign up. (Message and data rates may apply.)

Copyright Associated Press / NBC 10 Philadelphia

Leave Comments