Howard University was founded in 1867. It is a private research university composed of thirteen schools and colleges. It is located in northwest Washington, D.C. two miles from the U.S. capitol.
        Last year, the university notified the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) that radioactive powder had been discovered in a small lidded jar in an unused physics lab. The jar was stored in a lead shielded container that was labeled as a storage unit for radioactive materials. The powder had been stored in the locked physics lab since at least 2014. A label on the jar said that the material had been received by the university in 1942.
        The letter to the NRC said that the scientist who had last used the lab had retired in 2014. There is no information about how the powder came to Howard or whether the scientist made any use of it. The letter did not say that anyone had been exposed to the radioactive powder in the jar. The university did say that no one was harmed by the powder.
       Investigators from the NRC found that the powder was actinium-227 which is a radioactive isotope. About eighty microcuries of actinium was found in the jar. A microcurie is one millionths of a curie which is a unit used to measure radioactivity. A letter from the NRC summarizing their findings said that the university was never authorized to be in possession of the radioactive material.
      There was no evidence that the lab had suffered any contamination by the actinium. The NRC said that the university had failed to store the actinium in a ventilated hood or other containment device that would have prevented any from escaping into the air in the lab. The NRC said that if the actinium had been mishandled, someone could have received an unintended internal radiological dose.
       The NRC decided that Howard had been responsible for a Severity Level III incident. The NRC categorizes radiological incidents into four different levels of severity with Level One being the most severe. Howard could have been fined up to seven thousand dollars for the violation. However, the NRC did not fine Howard because the university had taken “prompt and comprehensive” steps to deal with the problem.
      Anthony Wutoh is the Howard Provost. He said, “Our priority remains the safety of our entire campus community. Once a potential risk was identified, the University adhered to all policies and best practices to assure the safety of our students, faculty and staff.”
        The letter from the NRC was addressed to Wayne A.I. Frederick. It mentioned that the university had issued an order to the chairs of all academic departments to carry out an inventory of all radioactive materials in their labs to confirm that they do not have any unauthorized materials.
       In 2008, there was an incident at Howard related to their handling of cesium-137, another radioactive isotope. In 2015, the NRC decided that Howard had violated safety rules with regard to the cesium incident in 2008. Last year, Idaho State University was fined eight thousand five hundred dollars for failing to properly maintain control and surveillance of one gram of plutonium.