Dental News - Dangerous X-ray radiation: German authorities caution Asian IDS exhibitors

Dangerous X-ray radiation: German authorities caution Asian IDS exhibitors

At IDS, all X-ray devices must be run in demonstration mode. (Photograph: welcomia/Shutterstock)

Dental Tribune International

Tue. 4. April 2017

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COLOGNE, Germany: German authorities took radiographic units of three Asian manufacturers out of service during this year’s IDS. The devices were displayed ready for operation, although this is prohibited owing to harmful radiation. Whether trade fair visitors were radiographed with the machines before the inspection remains unclear.

At the world’s largest dental fair, stringent safety precautions are taken. The measures include bag checks at the entrance and health provisions.

The exhibitors from Asia, whose company names were not disclosed, fell within the jurisdiction of the authority of the government district of Cologne. Measurements showed that the devices were not running in demonstration mode, which is usually the case at such an event, but were displayed ready for operation.

“A permit for such use is required and would never be granted at an event like this,” a spokesman of the body told local newspaper Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger.

The exhibitors were warned and the operation of the radiographic units prohibited. Whether trade fair visitors were actually radiographed with the devices, which looked like cameras, is not known. The batteries of the devices were handed over by the authority to the hosting organiser Koelnmesse for safekeeping until the end of the show.

IDS is the largest dental trade fair in the world. This year, more than 2,300 international companies exhibited their products over five days during the event.