NEW DELHI:Six years after the Mayapuri incident, in which Delhi University (DU) Chemistry department discarded waste containing radioactive Cobalt 60 that injured several scrap dealers in 2010, over 300 laboratories dealing with hazardous chemicals in 70 odd DU colleges are still compromising on safety norms.
With no proper ventilation in most of these laboratories and without any set guidelines for discarding of radioactive waste, the DU labs are sitting on a tinder box, waiting for a massive destruction.
“Most labs are not following the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) guidelines. Signs are missing; height of roof is not as per norms, nor is there any proper ventilation. Student strength is increasing for the science courses, but manpower is still the same and so is the infrastructure. Hence, it is resulting in overcrowding of labs,” a staff working in the science department of the university said.
When asked about the safety norms followed by the labs, Dean of Science department, DU, MK Pandit said, “We have a special lab safety committee and their representatives are in each department. They do safety inspections on a regular basis. We also follow all the fire safety guidelines that are prescribed by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC).”
According to the sources, accidents are taking place regularly and authorities are faltering on the basic measures. Like steps are never taken to ensure that radioactive compounds are disposed off in the right manner and not dumped. Also, there has been no fire safety mock drill in the upcoming labs.
“Safe disposal of all kinds of waste should be done as per the government guidelines. Staff should be imparted with the latest advancements in laboratories technique. Our association has been raising these demands since 2014, but DU authority is not paying any heed. The lab staff should also get a risk allowance. It can cause accidents in the lab,” said Rajesh Mehta, general secretary of Delhi University and College Laboratory (Technical) Staff Association (DUCLSA).
Mehta has earlier sent the DUCLSA’s demands to the current Vice-Chancellor Yogesh Tyagi.