(WXYZ) - Scientists say a common kitchen utensil that was discovered in a Michigan scrap yard is radioactive. So, the Action News Investigators wanted to know how the contaminated cheese grater got into this country in the first place.
ACTION NEWS INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER HEATHER CATALLO REPORTS IN THE VIDEO PLAYER ON THE RIGHT[Heather]
Every time a truckload of scrap metal arrives at Genesee Recycling in Flint… the metal is screened by radiation monitors.
In August… the alarms went off… sending workers scrambling with hand-held radiation detectors to find the contaminated item. Surprisingly… their detectors led them to this simple kitchen utensil.. a cheese grater.. stamped with the words “Made In China.”
As if a radioactive cheese grater isn’t odd enough… what’s even stranger is that the kitchen tool contains a peculiar element -- the radioactive isotope Cobalt 60.
[Bob Skowronek/Michigan Dept. of Environmental Quality]
“You don’t often find Cobalt 60 loose in places.”
[Heather]
Bob Skowronek is with the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality – the agency that tested the grater.
Unlike uranium, which is naturally occurring, Cobalt 60 has to be made using a nuclear reactor. It emits the strongest form of radiation – called gamma rays.
Bob Skowronek says it’s the wire rim of the grater that’s radioactive – and he says the radiation levels are not harmful because they are low – only 3.5 microcuries of Cobalt 60.
[Bob Skowronek/Michigan Dept. of Environmental Quality]
“Based on the measurements we took, if someone were to hold it at this distance and scraping cheese through it for 100 hours, that would be about equivalent to a chest xray.”
[Heather]
Obviously, no one’s going to grate cheese for 100 hours straight – but think about this:
If the grater is in your kitchen drawer…and you’re standing near that drawer – the gamma rays can pass through it – which means you can absorb the radiation.
It’s now estimated that it’s at least 8 years old – possibly older. And since Cobalt 60 decays over time – the radioactive levels would have been about 3 times higher when it was new.
[Dr. Michael Harbut/Toxicologist]
“There is no such thing as an absolutely safe level of radioactive exposure.”
[Heather]
Royal Oak toxicologist Dr. Michael Harbut says even though the government is saying the current radiation levels are low – he still doesn’t think a pregnant woman or small child should be near the grater.
[Dr. Michael Harbut/Toxicologist]
“The most important thing to consider is, do you want to add another source of possible cancer or premature death to the risk already being faced by your children. And I think the answer is absolutely not!”
[Heather]
The grater is made by EKCO – which is owned by the company “World Kitchen.”
So how did Cobalt 60 get inside the wire rim of the grater?
Nuclear experts tell us that most likely – the radioactive material got melted together with the stainless steel used to make the grater in China.
And since products like this are made in big batches – this may not be the only one out there.
[Dr. Michael Harbut/Toxicologist]
“I think it’s safe to assume there’s more than 1 Chinese cheese grater made with Cobalt 60 in the United States of America.”
[Heather Catallo]
“Would you want this cheese grater in your kitchen?”
[Bob Skowronek/Michigan Dept. of Environmental Quality]
“I wouldn’t.”
[Heather]
Neither would Rosemary Pineau. She loves to cook and spends a lot of time in the kitchen.
[Rosemary Pineau/Cook]
“I don’t care how low the dose – when they tell you they have ranges of safety, normalcy, or whatever, I’m not interested in even putting myself in that position or even anybody else.”
[Heather]
So what’s being done to make sure other possible radioactive graters are not in your home? And what’s the federal government doing to find out how Cobalt 60 got into this thing in the first place? It seems to be a bureaucratic hot potato.
Following the rules -- the Michigan DEQ sent their information to the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
From there, the NRC told the Action News Investigators that they handed the case off to the Environmental Protection Agency…
The EPA did tell me they’re working with World Kitchen… but offered no insight about how Cobalt 60 got into the grater.
And here’s what World Kitchen has to say:
In a written statement, they told us they hired an expert who determined the grater poses no safety issue to consumers.
They also say they tested 25 of the graters currently on store shelves – none of them were radioactive.
World Kitchen is also investigating to find out who supplied the raw material 8 years ago in China, and they are no longer manufacturing the grater.
So how did the grater get in the country? Homeland Security officials tell me – it if came in today, it wouldn’t make it past the borders. But Detroit has only had radiation monitors for about 6 years, which may explain why the Cobalt 60 wasn’t detected.
As for what you should do if you have a grater like this – the scientists I talked to say, it’s only $3 – if you have any concern at all, just replace it.
