Bangalore: Human Resource and Development (HRD) Minister Kapil Sibal has described the Delhi radiation death case as a "wake-up call" and said the Centre was proposing a regulatory framework for educational institutions that deal with such material.
"We need to look at the tragedy holistically. It is like a wake-up call for all of us," he told reporters here on the sidelines of a function.
"We need to deal with issues of such substances, the methodology of its procurement, handling and transportation of its storage and ultimately of its disposal."
"We are going to write to various ministries which deal with the issues of radiation in this regard," he said, adding University Grants Commission will also be writing to various universities seeking the guidelines and mechanisms to be initiated in the universities.
The guidelines did not merely relate to dealing with radioactive materials but also included bio-medical waste and pesticides. Once the guidelines were put in place, the UGC would work with the universities on the issue, in the coming months, he said.
"We need to take care of the safety of individuals so that incidents like India's first radiation death in Delhi do not occur in future."
UGC Chairman Prof Sukhadeo Thorat said the UGC was in the process of writing to all educational institutions and universities on guidelines to be followed in purchasing, using, storing and disposing hazardous material, including radioactive substance.
"They should ensure that the guidelines laid down by various conservatory authorities are followed. The universities must get approval from their executive councils before using any hazardous material," he said.
The UGC was setting up a high-powered committee to lay down a regulatory mechanism for use of radioactive and other hazardous substances, he added.
Eleven sources of radiation were detected in the Mayapuri scrap market where Cobalt-60 was recovered last month. A scrap shop worker in west Delhi died due to exposure to the radioactive material sold as scrap by Delhi University.
A few others are undergoing treatment after they were exposed to the same material last month, whose source was traced to the chemistry department of the University.