Equipment removal a delicate task at closed cancer center

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) - A Bloomington cancer treatment center that was once on the cutting edge has been closed for a month, but the equipment used to treat more than 2,000 patients over a decade remains inside.

Indiana University officials tell The Herald-Times (http://bit.ly/1BcX4U3 ) that some of the equipment from the IU Health Proton Therapy Center and IU Cyclotron contains low levels of radioactivity. They are working on a proposal to bring in experts who can assess the equipment and dispose of it safely.

"We can't sell them; we have to dispose of it properly," said Mike Jenson, IU's director of environmental health and safety management.

The proton therapy center opened in 2004 with cutting-edge technology and treated 2,079 patients over the next decade. But advances in cancer treatment, declining insurance reimbursement rates and old equipment prevented the center from being consistently profitable. The center and cyclotron had a $3.5 million deficit for fiscal year 2013, and the university incurred a $20 million loss for construction and about a $15 million loss in receivables from the center.

The facility closed in December.

Jenson said the center's cyclotron contains low levels of radioactivity, "much lower than if an X-ray was being operated in that facility."

"People don't need to be concerned about it," he said.

But it's enough to require special treatment.

He said there are only a few licensed disposal sites in the country for such items.

Jenson said he hopes to know the scope of the work and the cost by late spring.

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Information from: The Herald Times, http://www.heraldtimesonline.com