EDITORIAL

No matter how vigorously the Mayapuri incident may have highlighted the harmful effects of Radioactive substance and its exposure to human body, the ban on its usage seems to have been only for a limited time period. In the wake of the incident, the Ban on the usage of all kinds of radioactive material had come with full vigor by the Atomic Energy Regulatory Body (AERB) on Delhi University.

However, little was acknowledged that there might be similar incidents if the ban does not come as an umbrella policy on all universities having access to such substances.

Five months down the line, even the miniscule reality check seems to be loosing its grip on Delhi University after the recent lift on the ban on use of radioactive material categorizing them as mild.

However, after the infamous auction of gamma irradiator from Delhi University chemistry department that led to the leak of radioactive Cobalt-60, the varsity officials are making serious efforts to create lab safety awareness among students and the staff. After bringing out special lab manuals and posters, DU's chemistry department has decided to give a weight age of 5% to students for lab safety in practical exams.

Its time we retrospect the magnitude of the incident and prioritise if this is enough to combat the toxicity or more impetus, awareness creation and guidelines are needed.