A PROBE into how the University of York came to lose a radioactive substance has blamed campus staff.

The Press reported in February last year that a quantity of the radioactive substance radium 226 had gone missing from the university.

Now a report has revealed how a tractor should have taken the radioactive material to the premises of a York scrap metal merchant, and it should have been forwarded to a recycling plant in Sheffield, to be recovered.

When the container turned up, staff at the disposal company found there was nothing inside, and informed the university.

Staff there immediately launched a full investigation, which included sweeping the biology department with a monitor to determine whether the substance was still within the department.

Independent radioactive waste monitoring agents were also employed to determine whether it had been put into local waste skips, but they drew a blank. University staff eventually found the missing material a few days later.

The university said it would not name any of those involved in the incident, n or confirm whether they were still working on campus.

The report by Denis Fowler, the university's investigating health and safety officer, states: "The staff associated with the decommissioning of the radioactive source did not possess sufficient competency to undertake this activity.

"It did not form part of their job description, nor were they instructed to do such work."

The report also claims that lecturers in the biology department paid "little or no attention to the health and safety of themselves and others".

In addition, a health and safety officer's competency during the incident was an "issue of concern". The university has implemented a wide range of reviews to combat the problem and have put measures in place to stop such an incident from happening again.

The incident involved the decommissioning of a RackBeta' machine, which is used to measure radioactivity in samples such as muscle tissue by using radium.

The machine was brought to York from Cambridge 14 years ago. It was identified for decommissioning after research using it finished.

A spokesman for the University of York said: "Immediately this incident came to light, we gave details to the Health and Safety Executive, the Environment Agency, City of York Council and the police, as well as the entire university community.

"We also gave detailed information to the university community about what radium 226 is, and its potential significance.

"We launched an immediate and detailed investigation. Within four days, university staff traced the missing tiny amount of radium 226.

"Likely public exposure was minimal.

"In the light of the investigation, the university's guidance on the use of ionising radiation has been reviewed and revised, and procedures in the department concerned have been tightened.

"Procedures elsewhere in the university have been reviewed and found to be excellent."

A spokesperson for the HSE said an investigation was carried out at the time, the results of which are as yet unknown.

Highly-radioactive substance needs careful handling

RADIUM is highly radioactive - more than one million times more radioactive than the same mass of uranium.

Inhalation, injection, ingestion or body exposure to radium can cause cancer and other disorders, and advice is that stored radium should be ventilated to prevent the accumulation of radon gas, which is also radioactive. Radium 226 has a half-life of about 1,500 years - which means it loses half of its radioactivity every 1,500 years. It is naturally occurring in small amounts and can be found in soil, and every person has a small amount of radium 226 in them, usually in their bones. It is formed from naturally-occurring uranium when it decomposes radioactively, and is sometimes found in naturally higher concentrations in soils and rocks, for example, in Cornwall. Radium 226 has been used in smoke detectors and, in the past, it has been used in luminescent watches and other forms of luminous paint.