27 PEOPLE TO GET RADIATION TESTS AT SEMO; AMERICIUM CONTAMINATION FOUND IN PARTS OF MAGILL

Southeast Missouri State University biology professor Dr. Allen Gathman isn't overly worried about his health despite having entered a radiation contaminated Magill Hall storage room in March.

"Nothing I have seen from it suggests anybody has been exposed to anything significantly higher than background radiation," Gathman said.

Still, Gathman plans to undergo a scanner test this week to make sure his body hasn't absorbed americium-241, a radioactive material that leaked out of a safe in the storage room.

Gathman is one of about 70 people who may have come in contact with the contamination. As of Monday afternoon about 27 people had been scheduled for or undergone testing.

The university is footing the $35,000 to $40,000 bill for the testing, which is being done on campus by Helgeson Scientific Service of Pleasanton, Calif. A tractor-trailer housing the scanning equipment is parked on the north side of the Show Me Center.

Dr. Ken Dobbins, Southeast's president, said the testing could continue for more than a week. Test results aren't expected for about three weeks.

It takes about 53 minutes to test a person, said Tim Hurd, who drives the truck and operates the mobile scanning equipment. "It takes so long because the material we are looking for is very weak," said Hurd.

Hurd has hauled the mobile unit all over the country. The tractor-trailer includes a full-body scanner as well as one that just scans the chest area. Hurd said the chest scanner is being used at Southeast because the major health concern with americium comes from inhaling it. The chest scanner is used to detect radioactive substances such as uranium and americium that can settle in the lungs.

The test results are recorded on a computer. Hurd said he typically waits until all the testing is done and then puts the results on a computer disk. He mails the disk to the company's California office where the information is reviewed by a health physicist.

Testing began at 8 a.m. Monday. By mid-afternoon, nine people had been tested and another three were scheduled to undergo testing before the end of the day.

If inhaled or ingested, americium can form a cancer or lead to genetic problems, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission said.

NRC inspectors are scheduled to visit the campus again this week. Last week inspectors found radioactive contamination in several areas in the Magill basement and in a second-floor room.

Inspectors even checked the cars of seven university employees and the homes of six of them. No contamination was found in the vehicles or houses, said Pam Alloway-Mueller, a spokesman for the NRC's regional office in Chicago.

"All the readings were negative," she said.

Gathman said inspectors checked for contamination on his car's floorboards and the entrance to his Pocahontas area house.

Gathman said few people ventured into the storage room. Gathman said he and biology professor Walt Lilly, who has had training as a radiation safety officer, ventured into the storage room on March 21 with a Geiger counter to check the radiation level.

"I didn't actually touch anything. That is the only time I have been in the room," Gathman said.

Their actions followed a Feb. 16 inspection by the NRC, which raised questions about the school's handling of radioactive materials.

Gathman said some science students at Southeast have voiced concern about the radiation. "You would have to either breathe it or eat it for it to hurt you," he said.

But Gathman said there is no need for alarm. Gathman said the university's supply of americium is small, including the amount that leaked from a vial in the safe.

Gathman said the university wants to dispose of the americium if possible. Faculty aren't using it for science experiments.

"Nobody has been using it," he said. "Nobody wants it. We would love to get rid of it."

University officials said the school was licensed to buy and use seven radioactive materials prior to Feb. 16. Southeast hasn't been using radioactive materials since that date, school officials said.

The NRC says the university still is licensed to use those substances. They are carbon-14, tritium, sulphur-35, phosphorus-32 and phosphorus-33, iodine-125, and strontium-90.

The carbon-14 and tritium have been stored in a concrete storage room outside of Magill Hall. Those materials don't pose a safety threat to students, faculty or staff, officials said.

"No one has been exposed to excess radiation as a result of them," said Dr. Chris McGowan, dean of the College of Science and Mathematics. "The radioactive materials are in the form of wipes or are located in special vials used to measure radioactivity," he said.

Carbon-14 is used as a tracer in chemical and biochemical research. Because of its half-life and its presence in all carbon-containing matter, it is used as a means of dating archaeological specimens and fossils. Tritium is "almost harmless," McGowan said.

He said there is limited access to the materials, which are stored in small amounts in shielded areas.

Some Southeast faculty have used sulphur-35 and phosphorus-32 in research for years. The two substances have half-lives of 87 days and 14 days, respectively. They are stored securely in labs, school officials said.

Some students have been involved with faculty in undergraduate research using those two radioactive substances.

McGowan said the students have been trained in the proper use of those materials.