Twelve hospitals across New York City have pledged to get rid of certain machine containing the chemical cesium-137, which could be used to create an explosive made of radiological material called a "dirty bomb."
The initiative is the result of collaboration between the New York City Department of Health, the U.S. Department of Energy, the Nuclear Threat Initiative and the New York Police Department. The devices containing the chemical include machines used for cancer research and preparing blood donations, and will be replaced by alternative x-ray technologies.
"I am thrilled that private hospitals and universities in New York City have committed to removing these devices. While many of them have saved countless lives through cancer research and blood transfusion preparation, we must limit their risk of becoming objects for terror," said Health Commissioner Mary Bassett, MD.
The hospitals participating in the program include Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Columbia University Medical Center, NYC Health + Hospitals-Bellevue, Maimonides Medical Center, Montefiore Medical Center, Mount Sinai Health System, Northwell Health Lenox Hill Hospital and Long Island Jewish Medical Center, NYU Langone Health, New York Blood Center, New York-Presbyterian Hospital, Rockefeller University and Weill Cornell Medicine.