Sekisui Medical has revealed that at a facility in Tokai Village, Ibaraki Prefecture, where it conducts pharmaceutical research, a drainage pipe that drains liquid containing radioactive substances was damaged, and radioactive substances were detected from under the floor of the building.
No employee exposure has been confirmed, and it is believed that there is no impact on the environment.
This was announced at a press conference held by Sekisui Medical and Ibaraki Prefecture on the evening of the 5th.
According to it, on the 4th, at the research facility of the "Sekisui Medical Drug Discovery Support Center" in Tokai Muramatsu, which conducts research on the development of pharmaceuticals, while dismantling the laboratory building, radioactive materials under the floor of the first floor were found. It means that it was found that two drainage pipes that drain waste liquid containing are broken.
According to an investigation by Sekisui Medical, at one of these locations, radioactive substances such as tritium exceeding normal values were detected from the surface of the soil under the floor.
It is said that radioactive substances were used in this laboratory to study how drugs absorbed into the body of rats and others are transported and excreted.
The experimental building has not been used since March the year before, and according to the survey so far, no employee exposure has been confirmed, and it is believed that there is no impact on the environment.
The drain pipe is made of vinyl chloride, and the time and cause of the break are unknown, so Sekisui Medical will proceed with the investigation in the future.
Sekisui Medical "Deeply apologize"
Kenta Hashizume, director of the Sekisui Medical Drug Discovery Support Center, said, "We deeply apologize for causing a great deal of trouble to local residents and related organizations."
What are Sekisui Medical facilities?
The Sekisui Medical Drug Discovery Support Center, located in Muramatsu, Tokai-mura, Ibaraki Prefecture, conducts research on the development of new pharmaceuticals.
In response to requests from pharmaceutical companies, they are using rats and monkeys to study how drugs absorbed into the body move and are excreted, relying on the radiation emitted by radioactive substances. .
Tokai Village Mayor Yamada "Thorough management of worries in a residential area"
At Sekisui Medical's research facility in Tokai Village, Ibaraki Prefecture, radioactive materials were detected under the floor of the building, Tokai Village Mayor Osamu Yamada said, ``It is regrettable that there were parts where the facility was not properly managed. The facility is located in a residential area, and it seems that some residents are worried about it.In the future, I would like you to properly investigate the cause and circumstances and thoroughly manage it."