The Union Minister of State for Human Resource Development (HRD) Kapil Sibal, asked the University Grants Commission (UGC) on Friday to develop rules and guidelines for obtainment, usage and disposal of unsafe substances by universities. The HRD minister took this step to prevent incidents such as the recent radioactive poisoning of scrap dealers in Mayapuri from happening again. A meeting took place between UGC Chairman Sukhadeo Thorat and Sibal recently to discuss the guidelines that should be developed for the methods of procuring, handling, storing and disposing off material that can be potentially harmful.
A set of guidelines have been framed by the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) regarding how universities should store, use, handle and dispose such substances but the UGC does not have a policy regarding the matter.
