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83-year-old Canadian Sets OFf Radioactive Sensors At Border Crossing

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by John C.K. Daly
UPI International Correspondent
Washington (UPI) Aug 18, 2006
An 83-year-old Canadian man, who had received a radioactive dye for diagnosis of a heart condition, set off radiation detectors at the U.S.-Canadian border. The Vancouver Sun reported on Aug. 16 that border guards stopped 83-year-old Stanley Smith at the Peace Arch crossing on August 11. Smith wanted to visit a casino in Ferndale, Wash., but the dye set off alarms during a routine security screening.

Smith was quickly surrounded by heavily armed security guards and questioned. They took his passport and his medical documents.

Smith said that the U.S. customs agents accused him of potentially trying to make a bomb. After half an hour of intense questioning the authorities finally accepted Smith's explanation that he had undergone an injection of radioactive material the previous day.

Smith said, "It was a nightmare, believe me. "All I heard was buzz, buzz, buzz, and I thought, 'What in the hell is that for?' I had no idea I was radioactive. I got the injection in the hospital, but I didn't know what it was ... There must be a lot of people who get these injections, and don't know. Today's security is so tough. And those security people, they have no sense of humor whatsoever."

Smith said he received the injection of radioactive dye as part of a diagnostic scan on his heart following a recent heart attack.

The Washington Post recently reported that since 2000 U.S. customs officers have responded to 318,000 radiation-detection alarms, but have so far turned up no illegal material.

Smith said hospitals should warn patients not to try to cross a border soon after undergoing a nuclear medical procedure. Fraser Health Authority spokeswoman Lisa Thibeault said that in fact, British Columbia hospitals performing nuclear medicine diagnostics do post waiting-room warnings alerting patients receiving radioactive injections about the potential of trouble at the border.

Thibeault added that patients who inform their doctors of their travel plans are given a signed card acknowledging the medical procedure and a letter on hospital letterhead signed by a doctor to avoid trouble and confusion.

"(Doctors) are aware of this issue. That's why there are these procedures in place," Thibeault said. -0-

An agreement signed last year in Washington by India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and U.S. President George W. Bush for nuclear cooperation has drawn unprecedented public criticism from eight of India's top nuclear scientists.

The scientists insist that recent U.S. changes to the text of the deal are "unacceptable to India" and would limit its independence in nuclear research and its right to a nuclear deterrent.

SciDev.Net reported on August 15 from New Delhi that the scientists, who include three former chairs of India's Atomic Energy Commission, wrote an open letter to Indian parliamentarians due to debate the deal in coming days.

Singh and Bush signed the agreement in Washington in July 2005. Additional details were developed during Bush's visit to India in March.

Under the terms of the agreement, Washington agreed to sell nuclear reactors, fuel and equipment to India to build nuclear power stations. In return India agreed to separate its civilian and military nuclear operations and permit the International Atomic Energy Agency to inspect its civilian reactors generating electricity.

The scientists wrote that while they welcomed the agreement, new clauses proposed by the U.S. House of Representatives last month would limit Indian nuclear research and development.

The scientists also express their concern about foreign supervision or control of India's nuclear activities, writing, "This is especially true when they concern strategic national defense and energy self-sufficiency. The lawmakers of the U.S. Congress have modified, both in letter and spirit, the implementation of such an agreement."

The scientists caution against decisions that might inhibit India's "future ability to develop and pursue nuclear technologies for the benefit of the nation," adding that it in the future would be difficult diplomatically to alter the clauses of the agreement.

The signatories of the letter are: Dr. H. N. Sethna, Former Chairman, Atomic Energy Commission; Dr. M. R. Srinivasan, Former Chairman, Atomic Energy Commission; Dr. P. K. Iyengar, Former Chairman, Atomic Energy Commission; Dr. A. Gopalakrishnan, Former Chairman, Atomic Energy Regulatory Board; Dr. S. L. Kati, Former Managing Director, Nuclear Power Corporation; Dr. A. N. Prasad, Former Director, Bhabha Atomic Research Center; Dr. Y. S. R. Prasad, Former Chairman and Managing Director, Nuclear Power Corporation and Dr. Placid Rodriguez, Former Director, Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research

Source: United Press International

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