Mercy Hospital in Cork admits security breach after radioactive pen disappeared

A radioactive pen disappeared from the gamma scanning room at Mercy University Hospital in Cork and the Environmental Protection Agency prosecuted the hospital for a security breach.

The expert evidence from Dr Jack Madden called by the EPA was that the pen was close to the end of its life and emitting a low level of radiation – comparable to the level of radiation to which he said a passenger would be exposed on a one-hour flight.